A Rose's Last Bloom
by Dust2Dust17
Summary: I wish I could say every story has a fairy tale ending, but there's sadly some where that kind of ending never comes. This story will detail the one of Summer Rose: Devoted Wife, Loving Mother, and Talented Huntress. Part of my 100 Themes Challenge: 100-Death
1. Chapter 1

It was a crisp autumn day atop the cliff that overlooked all of Vale. Across the bay from the gleaming city, the last bastion of humanity for hundreds of miles, stood the towering castle-like monolith that was Beacon Academy, the most prestigious training facility for upcoming protectors of the world from the forces of evil. Finally, in the sky above and between both the academy and the utopia that was Vale, floated a massive construct known as Amity Colosseum, where the young hooded girl would be within the hour to represent the school and the kingdom she was born, raised, and trained in along with her sister and her friends. But first, she had to check in with someone she hadn't seen in quite a while, standing in front of her.

"Hey, Mom." Ruby greeted as she pulled her hood down, staring down at the slate tombstone in front of her. "Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been..." she paused as she tried to find the right words. "Well, things have been pretty busy. Oh, Dad's here too! He's, you know...Dad." she chuckled as she looked back to the path she took from where he dropped her off to speak with her mother. "He's still teaching at Signal, but he told me he's going on some missions soon!" She said with slight enthusiasm. She knew how long it had been since her father had went out on a job as a Huntsman. The fact he finally was going to get back into it was a welcomed surprise for her small family. The happy thought ended as she remembered why he stopped for a while. "I think he misses adventuring with you." she spoke up again, frowning. "I miss you too."

A silence followed that, as she tried to change the subject on something less depressing. "Haven't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet..." she said, settling on discussing how her time at the Huntsman school was going. "So that's cool. I think being on a team with Yang helps. I keep her in line." Ruby chuckled, at the thought of her shenanigans with Yang from the past. "That was a joke. She's actually a really great fighter!You can tell she's learned alot from Dad. Well, so are Weiss and Blake." she murmured to herself, before she began her next thought as if the tombstone in front of her asked about her other two comrades. "Oh! They're my teammates. Together, we form Team RWBY...And yes, before you ask, it does cause alot of confusion. Anyways...uh..." she trailed off, trying to figure out what else to say. "I made a bunch of new friends, and I met some...let's just say 'odd' teachers. Oh, and we stopped some bad guys too." she smiled. "I guess it's like they say, 'Like Mother, Like Daughter.'" It was almost like she was perfectly following in her mother's footsteps. Not only was she the leader of a Huntsman team, but she was stopping criminals and Grimm left and right. " I still wonder why Ozpin let me into the school early, but, uh, I guess he'll tell me one day. You know how he is. It's funny, the more I get to know him, the more he starts sounding like Uncle Qrow." she thought again, before a familiar bark caused her to turn to face her pet dog and her father waiting a few yards away, Zwei wagging his tail and Taiyang just keeping his distance with a smile on his face.

"Oh, looks like Dad's back." Ruby commented before turning back to her mother's grave. "I gotta go, he's dropping me off at Beacon for the tournament match before his next mission! Wish me luck!" she smiled before replacing her hood over her hair and starting to trot towards her father before looking back for a moment. "It was good to talk." she whispered before beginning to leave.

Once again, Summer was alone with her thoughts. She was proud what her daughter had accomplished so far, and could already tell she was on a path to being on the same level as she was at her prime. If only that prime was still going. It made her think back to that time, as well as she could remember anyway.

* * *

 _ **11 Years Ago**_

She had done many impossible feats before. Ranging from bringing an end to a corrupt police force to stopping one of the largest Boarbatusks ever recorded singlehandedly, there wasn't much that Summer Rose was incapable of. The one thing she couldn't do, at least this time, was rely on Taiyang to make sure the alarms were set. Her tired silver eyes shot open at the sight of the digital clock on her nightstand reading 8:15. She was due for her tutoring session in 45 minutes, and to her knowledge, not even the girls were up yet.

"Sonova-!" she cursed as she scrambled out of bed, falling to the floor and startling awake the blonde man that laid beside her. "Ow..." she groaned as she rubbed the side of her face that hit the hardwood floor of their cabin's bedroom.

"Huh, what, what time is it?" Taiyang groggily asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"It doesn't matter! I thought I told you to reset the clocks! We're way behind schedule!" Summer snapped as she walked briskly to her chifferobe and ran a brush through her dark red hair. Looking back at the queen-sized bed she shared with her husband of a couple years, to find him still under the covers. "What are you doing? Go get Yang and Ruby up!" she ordered.

"Good morning to you too, Glorious Team Leader." Taiyang joked as he climbed out of bed and left Summer to get back to getting ready. This day, she already had a feeling, was going to be a disaster.

* * *

 **On that note, I'll end it here.  
**

 **While I still have work that needs doing on Broken Home, I had to get this idea out of the way. I've had this headcanon for what was the mission that Summer Rose lost her life on and wanted to get the start out of the way before I forget. That happened with a previous one-shot I wanted to do, but never got on paper in time and it sadly never came to be. I'm not having this take priority over Broken Home, but I will try to get it updated frequently. I want to try and get the next chapter for it out by the time my next semester for college picks back up at the end of the month. If you like what you've read so far, leave a follow or a comment; I read all of them, and I'll see you lads and lasses next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

There was a flurry of petals around the room as Summer rushed around in a frenzy to finish getting ready. While it sometimes takes the average human up to an hour to prepare for the day. Summer had the pleasure of testing to see if she could accomplish it within fifteen minutes. Quickly changing out of her pajamas as she nearly lept into an already running shower, she washed herself in record time before using her speed semblance to vibrate the water off of her, drying herself much quicker that with just a towel, but she still used hers to finish any damp spots and wrap her dark red hair with while she threw on her undergarments and leggings, not throwing on her combat dress and breastplate until she was done drying her hair and brushing her teeth. As she ran a brush through her hair, she paused for only a second to find a braid of lace caught in the tooth of her hairbrush, probably left there when she was playing with her biological daughter last night.

Speaking of which, she had to make sure they were up.

Picking her arm guards and cloak off her dresser and the hanger on the back of their bedroom door, Summer draped the bright white fabric over her shoulders as she opened the door. Luckily, she noticed the door across from hers open, and a little girl with black hair and dark red highlights waiting for her, still in bright pink footsie pajamas. "Morning, Mama!" Ruby waived as she reached for her mother to give her a hug. Deciding to humor her, Summer bent down and pulled her four year old into a hug.

"Hello there, my little rosebud." Summer smiled as she pecked her daughter's forehead with a kiss. "Did Daddy get Yang up already?"

The toddler nodded furiously at that question. "MmHmm! They getting bweakfast weady!" she answered.

"Well, then let's get you ready then." Summer replied as they walked into Ruby's room. After getting the girl's hair brushed and into her summer dress and pants, as well as buckling her tiny sneakers for her, she turned to leave so they could go downstairs to eat breakfast, only to find her daughter getting back into her bed. "Ruby, what are you doing? We have to get going." the mother encouraged. Her gaze softened as she realized she wasn't going back to sleep, but to grab a long piece of cloth. At least, the cloth was long for the size of the young child. It was easily the length of her bedsheet, red as rose petals.

"Uncwe Qwow gave me this yesterday! Isn't it pwetty?" Ruby asked, trying to tie it around her neck to make it a cape. Summer chuckled to herself as she walked back down, kneeling in front of her daughter to inspect her former teammate's handiwork.

"I tell you, Ruby, if he wasn't a Huntsman like me, I'd say your uncle would be a heck of a seamstress." she smiled, making the little girl giggle at her joke. "It's kind of big though. Let's leave it here today, and I'll try to fit it more to your size when we're all home." she suggested.

"But I wanna wear it!" Ruby pouted. "I awweady towd my fwiends about it yestewday!"

Summer bit her lip as she thought of a way to fix this when a thought occurred. "How about this, then?" she offered. "I think I have one just like this from when I was a little girl your age. How about you wear that today, and I'll tailor this one later?"

"Mmmm, okay." Ruby nodded, agreeing to the arrangement.

"Good girl. Wait here." Summer said with a pat on her head as she crossed the hall again, this time going to the back of her closet she had shared with Taiyang these past few years. Rummaging through a trunk coated in dust, years of age worn into its leather hide, she finally found what she was looking for: a musty cloak with some small mothballs stuck to the faded-red fabric. Her old blanket from her own childhood; she had used it as a cape herself when she dreamed of becoming a Huntress, much like Ruby did now. Taking it out of the closet and returning to Ruby, she helped her tie it on before leading her downstairs into the kitchenette. She was happy to see Taiyang had already prepared a quick breakfast of toast, eggs and bacon for the two of them while leaving some bowls of Pumpkin Pete's marshmallow cereal out for the girls. A young but brash six-year old with blonde pigtails and dressed in a brown t-shirt with a orange handkerchief around her neck, black jeans and a pair of moccasins was already helping herself to a bowl.

"Morning, Yang!" Ruby greeted as she climbed into the stool next to her half-sister.

"Hi, Ruby!" Yang smirked after swallowing a mouthful of the sugary cereal. "Nice cape, little sis!"

While the two girls giggled at their own conversation, Summer took her own plate, giving a peck on the cheek to her husband. "Sorry for the rush a little bit ago. Shower's all yours." she apologized.

"It's fine, Summer." Taiyang chuckled as he placed the frying pan he used for the eggs and bacon in the kitchen sink. "And besides, I already showered last night."

"Well, look at you planning ahead." she said with intrigue.

"Speaking of plans, I overheard from Oz they've finally finished negotiating the location for the next Vytal Festival, so he'll finally be coming on back from that soon." the blonde brawler commented, striking up a conversation.

"Oh, good!" the redhead smiled. "I was thinking we all catch up with some dinner out at Vale or something sometime soon. Where's the festival gonna be?"

"Vacuo, apparently."

Yang perked up as she heard her dad say that. "Oh, that's close isn't it? Can we go, Dad? Pleeeeease?" she started begging.

"Relax, Yang. The festival's still not for a couple months, and I'm not sure if it's in our budget at the moment." Taiyang answered, prompting a sigh of disappointment from his eldest daughter. "...But, for now, it's a maybe. Deal?"

At the word of the trip to one of the coolest events ever not being totally out of the question, Yang's smile returned. "Deal! Hear that, Ruby? We're going to the Vytal Festival!"

"What's that?" Ruby asked, looking up from her cereal bowl.

"It's this super cool tournament where all the big kids from schools like Beacon Academy get to compete to see who can kick the most butt!" Yang started shouting in excitement.

"Yang, inside voices please." Summer commented as she took a bite out of her piece of toast. "But she's right, Ruby. Your father, uncle, and I did have some fun competing in it back in our school days."

"Woah, you were in the Vytal Tournament at one time, Mom?" Yang asked.

"Did you win?" Ruby asked.

"No, no." Summer chuckled. "We always sent your Uncle Qrow to the final round, and he would always get beaten around." Summer sighed.

"What?" Yang gasped. "But Uncle Qrow's super cool! Nothing can beat him!"

"Hate to break it to you, Lil Firecracker, but it happened three years in a row for us." Taiyang sighed. "In fact, there hasn't been a victor from Vale in over ten years. It's always been somebody from Mistral or Atlas who's won so much recently."

"Yeah, that Hephaestus Nikos guy." Summer remembered. "He and his team from Haven always gave us a run for our money. He deserved those two titles."

Yang took in this news and suddenly put on a face of determination. "Well, guess what? I'm gonna be the one to win Vale a title again! I swear it on my life!" she triumphantly swore as she stood up on her seat with a fist held high in the air.

"Yeah! Go, Yang!" Ruby cheered through a mouthful of cereal, spattering the countertop with milk and crumbs

"You sure will, Yang." Summer chuckled before her eyes turned to the clock on the stove. They had to be at Signal in ten minutes. "Oh, Dust! Look at the time! Girls, go get your backpacks for school. We have to go!"

"I haven't even started yet..." Taiyang complained, looking at his uneaten plate as he was finishing washing the pans from cooking.

"Eat in the car, dolt!" Summer snapped as she snatched her weapon, Waning Crescent, which was a metallic red pair of chain scythes she hung from two holsters on her hips, letting them magnetically lock with the magnets on her utility belt, and ushering the girls out the door and towards the family car while Taiyang brought up the rear with his plate of breakfast, locking the door behind him as he was the last one out.

* * *

"...And you're positive she'll be a good candidate?" a tired sounding voice asked as he began filling his mug as the two men walked down the main hall of Signal Academy.

"First off, Qrow, just because she was his daughter doesn't mean she'll turn out just like him. I can see her becoming a fine Huntress once she's older." the second voice replied, coming from a reddish-brown haired older man with a thin goatee, who wore a light brown jacket over a burgundy shirt and dress pants. "And second, for Monty's sake, stop drinking on the job!"

Hey, class is technically not in session yet, so I'm technically NOT on the job yet, Auburn." Qrow retorted, placing his flask back in his inner breast pocket. "And I'm just saying it seems to be a bit early to be sending out scouting recommendations for the higher-up schools. She's still got three years here at best, and Goldenrod's already got his eye on her?"

"That's Headmaster Auburn to you." Auburn corrected, reminding Qrow of his new promotion. "And while I agree with you, it seems Atlas has been starting their scouting at academies like Sanctum, Siren, and Torch a bit earlier than normal. They want us to send our scouting recommendations out soon so that the can check in on us next."

"We won the war, and Atlas is still lording over us, is that it?" Qrow grumbled as he took a sip from his spiked mug of coffee.

"It's not that way, Qrow. Shade's begun requesting for them as well, and I've already heard from the counselors that seniors are already planning on where they want to go after graduation." Auburn explained.

"Meh, Shade." Qrow groaned. "Who wants to spend four years in blistering heat where the only thing worth fighting out there is a dwarf Deathstalker?"

"I'm not sure. Ask the people of Vacuo if you ever get the chance." Auburn smirked, as he looked out the main door to the street Signal sat in front of. Students were already starting to arrive for class, and both teachers noticed a lightly weathered yellow sedan pulling into one of the parking spots up front of the school reserved for teachers and faculty. Out of it stepped Taiyang and Summer, the redhead pausing to open the back door to let a young Ruby and Yang out from their car seats. All of which then quickly walked up to the school, both girls immediately making b-line for their uncle, who was already kneeling down for a hug for them.

"Uncwe Qwow!" Ruby squealed as she ran into his hug, followed in quick succession by Yang.

"Hey there, kiddo." Qrow smirked back as he tussled her hair for a moment.

"Hey, why do you smell like that cabinet Dad says is full of grown-up only drinks?" Yang asked, catching the scent of alcohol on her relative's breath.

"Eheh..." Qrow sheepishly chuckled as Summer and Taiyang gave him a skeptical look. "Look, we'll talk when your class with me comes around. How about you go drop off your sister at the kindergarten class, eh, Lil Hothead?"

Pouting at the nickname she hated, Yang complied as she took Ruby's hand and lead her down the hall. "C'mon, Ruby."

"Bye bye, Mama, Daddy!" Ruby waived as she and her sister left.

"Have a good day, girls!" Summer replied.

"And remember to come to my office for your lunchtimes!" Taiyang reminded before they rounded the corner for the younger student classrooms, leaving the four to talk amongst themselves. "So Qrow, drinking on the job again?"

"Hey, I don't tell you how to live your life, Tai." Qrow sneered.

"Enough, boys." Summer said, getting in the middle of the two before a fight broke out in the middle of the hall with incoming students everywhere. "So, boss, what's on the agenda for today?" she then asked Auburn, in a more casual manner.

"Nothing in particular, Summer." The headmaster shrugged. "You're all rested from your last mission, from the looks of it. You're good to be going back into the apprenticeship course, right?"

Her favorite part of her job. Since getting back on her feet after having Ruby, Summer started solely using her position as a teacher at Signal to be a mentor to the top of the class members of the student body's higher-grades, one of her success stories going on to become a Beacon Academy student. He even still sent letters. "You're saying that as if I ever left it." Summer joked. "But, yes, I'm all good."

"Very good, then. Let's begin." Auburn ordered as the four teachers went their separate ways to begin the day, Taiyang and Summer pausing to wish each other a good day and share a quick kiss before Taiyang and Auburn went into the administration offices, Qrow taking a left to head down to his weaponsmithing shop class, and Summer heading towards the back of the school to where the indoor training courses were, stopping in front of a small classroom. Upon walking in, she found a few upperclassmen out of the higher grades talking amongst each other, finishing homework assignments, or simply waiting patiently for their mentoring Huntsmen to show up. One in particular smiled at her arrival: a young adolescent girl with piercing amber eyes and jet black hair, who was looking up from the inspection of her newly crafted swords.

"Good morning, Cinder." Summer nodded to the girl. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Hello, Miss Rose." Cinder smiled back. "I'm ready when you are.


	3. Chapter 3

One of the outdoor training facilities could be heard from around the perimeter of the school, clammering with action as the sounds of a spar taking place. The clashing of blades, whipping of chains through the air, and the whoosh of arrows flying towards their target. On one end was the young teenage Cinder Fall, using her gleaming chrome swords, differentiating between their mode as swords and their secondary feature as a bow for the quiver of arrows on her hip. Despite the season of Autumn coming into full swing, she wore her burgundy summer halter top dress and dark colored slippers. While she seemed exposed with the lack of armor her combat attire possessed, she checked the Aura gauge on the practice arena screen. She was bordering on the 70% mark while Summer had barely broken 95%. "I know this isn't our first spar, but this is still amazing..." Cinder thought to herself. "How can she dish out that much power and still have so much strength left?"

Summer noticed Cinder's pause, knowing she was thinking of something, deciding to test the girl she tutored on her defensive capabilities. She threw both scythes of Waning Crescent towards the student, only for them to be blocked by her swords, but leaving her wide open. Dashing forward, she quickly reeled in the chain of her right scythe and went in for a close-up slash. Cinder gasped as she noticed what her teacher was planning and quickly brought a sword across to parry the strike, only for Summer to disappear in a flash of bright red rose petals from right in front of her. "What the-" Cinder thought before she felt a presence behind her. She turned just in time for the hilt of Waning Crescent to catch her right across the cheek, sending her rolling to the ground, and draining her Aura substantially for a hit without much force behind it.

"Are you alright, Cinder?" Summer asked, clipping her chain scythes to her hip holsters for them before walking over to lend her student an hand back up to her feet.

Cinder lightly chuckled as she rose back to a stand. "I'm fine, Miss Rose." she nodded. "I just wasn't expecting...whatever that was."

Now it was Summer's turn to laugh. "You've seen it before, you know!" she retorted.

The young archer blinked. "I have?" she asked.

"That, Cinder, was my semblance." Summer explained, but not before nodding to Cinder's question. "The only reason I've yet to have used it in our practice spars was because Professor Auburn informed me you haven't exactly mastered yours yet."

Cinder's features fell at that statement. "He's...half right." she muttered.

"Pardon?" her tutor asked.

She turned away from Summer for a moment. "I know we're all only supposed to have one semblance, but, somehow, everytime I try to practice mine, something...else happens."

Summer raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'something else'?" she asked.

"Well, it'd make more sense if I showed you." Cinder answered, turning towards a set of training dummies lined up on the fence to the side of the arena. They were used for the earliest levels of Huntsman training, for when students took their first steps into combat preparation, and because of the frequency of the years they were used, worn with dents, cuts, and even bullet holes in some of them. Cinder took position in front of the row of them while Summer watched on with intent to see what her student meant. She slowly raised her arms out in front of her as her eyes began to glow a soft golden color. The same color began to radiate around her sleeves as she noticed the sand across the arena floor below her began to rise into the air in three different bunches. A flash of aura hit them, and in an instant, the sand was hardened into sharp shards of glass, which Cinder then proceeded to hurl towards the dummies. While two struck true and impaled two human-shaped dummies through the abdomen, another missed and sailed into the fence, shattering on impact.

"Very impressive, Cinder!" Summer cheered.

"That wasn't it, though..." Cinder spoke up, pausing her teacher's celebratory words. She turned back to the dummies as more Aura began to form around her hands, this time forming particles around them. Summer's eyes narrowed as she tried to think of what was happening, only for them to widen upon realization what she was doing. The particles stopped forming as they shot out in a dual blast of fire that enveloped the whole of the dummies into flames. As she lowered her hands, she then turned to Summer for confirmation she saw. "So, what does this mean for me?" she asked.

Summer tried to think of a way to explain this. Cinder was much too young to remember what actually made her that way, but the red-headed leader of Team STRQ new all too well. She was part of the operation into putting an end to October Fall's inhumane experimentation involving dust infusion. From what they could gather evidence-wise, it appeared the testing gave each of the Fall sisters a different element to control. It seems Cinder was given fire, ironically. However, there was one way that she could answer without being told the truth. "Well, Cinder, it looks like your semblance is magic based." she hypothesized.

"Magic based?" she asked.

"Yes. I've seen some Huntsmen and Huntresses that use their aura for a multitude of uses from conjuring to creating shields." Summer explained. "Some of the best come from a lineage from Atlas, the Schnee family I believe."

"If I can use magic, then why even practice with these weapons?" Cinder asked, gesturing to the twin swords she wielded.

"Because when it comes down to it, if you don't have enough Aura left during a battle, your semblance can't be used otherwise the Aura protecting you will cease to do so, and leave you open to being harmed." Summer answered. "With practice, I believe you can learn to strengthen it and learn even greater skills as you progress."

"Wow..." Cinder thought aloud as she looked to her empty hands. "You really think so?"

"I know so." Summer smiled as Cinder smiled back. "Now, let's break for lunch. We'll continue on Aura afterwards."

* * *

"Alright, girls. Enjoy recess." Taiyang smiled as he held the door open for his daughters to join the younger students of Signal for their recess period after lunch.

"We will, Dad!" Yang waved as she and Ruby ran out to join the other children in the large field behind the academy. Kids from Ruby's kindergarten age to Yang's elementary classmates were running around playing tag or other childhood games, while others were just around in groups talking or trying to show off tricks they learned from watching the older students practice their Aura manipulation out of view of the teachers monitoring them. "So, Ruby, whatcha want to do?" she asked her little half-sister.

"I wanna pway hide and seek!" Ruby smiled.

"Sounds good to me!" Yang nodded as she walked over to a large rock towards the center of the field. "Remember, stay in view of the school though, okay?"

Ruby nodded as Yang turned around to start counting down, giving Ruby enough time to run off and find a place to hide. There were a few bushes and large rocks to hide behind around the field, but she decided to hide behind one of the trees lining the space between the school and the forest behind them. Quickly running over there, she made it just in time as Yang turned back around, giggling to herself at what a good hider she thought she was.

"Ready or not, Ruby! Here I come!" Yang announced as she scanned the field. At first glance, it wasn't that easy to find her within a couple seconds. Ruby always hid somewhere that would take Yang literally seconds to walk to. This time, she took almost half a minute to find her sister, which suddenly very easy once she saw half of Ruby's head poking out from behind a tree before darting back behind it. "I see you!" she shouted before running in her direction.

Giggling as she saw her sister, Ruby wasn't ready to give up so easy. "Catch me fiwst!" Ruby laughed as she ran deeper into the treeline.

"Wha-Ruby!" Yang chuckled at her sister's antics as she ran inside the forest and away from there. The next couple of minutes continued of the two girls laughing as they chased each other down the forest path, the two finally catching up to one another as they paused to catch their breath. "Ruby, that was a good hiding spot." Yang panted.

"I know! I founded it!" Ruby beamed as her older sister rolled her eyes, before realizing they were in the middle of a forest.

"Wait a minute, where's the school?" Yang asked, making her little sister pause her laughter for a minute.

"Are we lost, Yang?" Ruby asked.

"No, no." the blonde reassured her. "There's only two ways this path goes, and I think the school is back..." she paused to look in the directions in front of and behind them, thinking she saw something that looked like the outline of a building behind them. "This way!"

Hesitating, Ruby followed her sister as she looked around, thinking she saw something before following along, but deciding to ignore it. Nothing dangerous ever really lived out here in these forests...right?


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't long before Summer and her apprentice had finished their meal and began to leave the cafeteria, the Huntress dabbing her mouth with a handkerchief to remove some stained-on food on the corner of her mouth before tucking it back in the pouch on her belt. "Alright, Cinder. Let's get back to it then, shall we?" Summer asked.

"What's the plan, now?" Cinder asked in warranted return.

"Well, we should go over basic Aura manipulation again, give you some building blocks to further test your semblance." Summer thought aloud, calculating what else her pupil should know before going to another combat school like Beacon.

"You've seen how far I can take it." the ashen-haired teen shrugged. There's not much else to it."

"That's why we have this new technique called 'Practicing'." Summer joked while her student rolled her eyes. As they turned to head out a set of doors leading to the outside world, they were stopped by a wave of children coming inside; the younger students returning from recess. Once they had an opening, the two looked out to the now empty schoolyard to see a few teachers looking around in panic and worry, as if something important was lost. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Oh! M-Miss Rose!" The closest one stuttered. "Umm..not exactly. It seems two of the children in that recess group wandered off, and there's no sight of them!"

"What? Which kids?"

* * *

Ruby and Yang stopped as they looked at what was in front of them. Instead of the school, the path they took lead to a beat-up old shed covered in dead leaves and overgrowth. Ivy crept up the walls and across the cracked and weathered windows, and weeds sprouted out from the crevices of the worn concrete around the structure. A sense of adventurous wonder overtook Yang as she noticed the door, or what was left of the rotted hunk of wood hanging by only one hinge, was ajar. She began to step towards it, moving to peak inside.

"Yang...is it safe to go in?" Ruby asked, looking around.

"Oh, come on, Rubes!" Yang encouraged. "It's only us out here. Besides, you got your big sister around to protect you."

With that much assurance being enough for a pre-schooler, the little brunette followed her half sister inside the shack, both girls looking around at its contents. No doubt it was formerly used by the school. Each wall was lined with shelves upon shelves of dust-covered boxes worn by the sands of time and the leaks in the roof, some marked with Signal Academy's logo. Another was covered in toolboxes and what appeared to be old sparring armor, the protective plastic chipped and dented and the padding scarred as if a rodent had chewed on it. What caught their eyes more was a desk off to the side with an old metal stool sat in front of it, completely covered in all sorts of old gadgets, tools, and more interestingly, weapons.

"Woah...Look at all this cool stuff!" Yang smiled in amazement as she ran over to it, picking up something that looked like a rusty-old ring. It was heavier than it looked as she picked it up, placing it over her hand like a bracelet.

"Is that jewlewy?" Ruby asked.

"I think so..." Yang shrugged as she flexed her forearm. "It's kinda heavy for a bracelet th-WOAH!"

She and her sister gasped as the piece of metal on her arm suddenly doubled in size, forming a sort of bracer over her arm. "Wo-hohoho!" Yang laughed. "This thing is cool!" she said as she punctuated it with a punch to the sky. The motion was followed by a sharp crack that made Ruby yelp in surprise and Yang nearly fall back from the kickback.

"What did it do?" Ruby asked in surprise, covering her ears in fear of the loud noise coming again.

Yang looked down at the smoking hole on the gauntlet she found. "I think it's part bracelet, part gun..." she thought aloud. "THIS IS SO COOL!" she then shouted.

"How can it be two weapons at once?" Ruby asked.

"Well, duh!" Yang chuckled. "All Huntsmen and Huntresses like Mom, Dad, and Uncle Qrow have them! They have weapons that turn into other weapons! This has to be an early version of one of them!"

"Wow, cool!" Ruby clapped as she walked over and climbed up the stool to look at what else they found. The two girls began to marvel in the treasure trove of neat things across the table from switchblades to collapsable weaponry before a loud thump from above them got their attention.

"Was that you?" Yang asked, her worry setting in as Ruby shook her head. Both girls looked up to the ceiling as they heard a loud series of cracks coming from above them. It wasn't long before the roof caved in completely in a loud crash, dust and leaves falling along with the chunk of roof that the two girls quickly got out of the way from.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, scared now.

Yang didn't even get to say a syllable before a growl in the disspating dust cloud caught the girls attention. Slowly stepping out of it was a tall black figure with beady red glowing eyes. It was covered in white bone-like spikes and a mask across its face of the same material. It flashed its fangs at the two young girls and let out a snarl before the two screamed and ran out the door, trying to shut it before running off. The flimsy old wood did nothing to stop it as it tore through the frame and after the girls, who were running as fast as their legs could carry them away from the Beowulf, screaming for help as they tried to get back to the school. The Beowulf roared too, attracting two more of its brethren to the chase.

"Somebody help us! Yang called.

"Mommy!" Ruby cried in unison as she tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. "Owie!"

"Ruby!" Yang gasped as she turned to get Ruby back to her feet, as the three Grimm bore down on them, the lead Beowulf stopping to howl in triumph as its pack of three began to pounce. The lead one didn't get far. Just before its claws reached the two sisters, it suddenly stopped in mid-lunge, hanging at an angle as if something was holding it from falling. Both the girls and the Grimm looked to its chest, seeing a gleaming crescent-shaped blade sticking through its chest, blood as black as oil dripping off the blade. It then was yanked backward towards the treeline until the other half of Waning Crescent severed its head from the body in one fluid slashing motion.

"Girls! Get back!" Summer ordered as Yang helped her sister up and away from the two remaining Grimm, which shrugged off chasing the smaller humans to focus on the one that killed their pack member. The second beta lunged again towards Summer only for her to disappear in a flurry of red and white petals. The only thing the Beowolf could look up to in its state of confusion was the arrow driving through its forehead as Cinder rushed forward in Summer's place.

The alphamale snarled again as it looked around for the first Huntress they saw, only getting its answer as a shadow began casting itself above it. It looked up just in time to block a strike from Summer. Judging how the plating was strong enough to withstand her strike, and then shove her off, she knew this one was experienced. She backed off, moving to whip her scythes at it from a distance, a flurry of slashes buffeting the creature of Grimm. Each cut chipped away until she felt her right chain grow taut, the blade jabbing into a crevice between the beast's shoulder and making it howl in agony. "Cinder, get ready!" Summer called as her apprentice nodded, splitting her bow in two to form its sword mode. With her deceptive strength, Summer tugged the chain as hard as she could to whip the Beowulf Cinder's way. It sailed towards her, leaving it open for the slash she needed to cleave it into perfect halves, both of which disintegrated moments after hitting the forest floor.

Once they knew the coast was clear, both daughters ran towards their mother, tears dripping from their face as Summer welcomed them in open arms, the two sobbing into each shoulder of the Huntress. "Mommy! It was so scawy!" Ruby bawled.

"Shh, girls. It's okay. Mommy's here..." Summer quietly cooed to them as they shared a group hug, save for Cinder as she retrieved one of her arrows from where the corpse of one of the Beowolves once sat. "Cinder, we're going to need to call it a day. Let's return to the academy."

"I understand, Miss Rose." Cinder nodded as the two sheathed their weapons on their respective holsters before beginning walking back to the academy, Summer holding Ruby in her left hand while taking Yang's hand in her right.

"Hey, Mom?" Yang asked.

"What is it, Yang?" Summer asked in response.

"I thought monsters like that didn't live in safe places like Patch." Yang thought aloud.

While Summer was confused about the same thought, she tried to give an answer to settle Yang's mind. "Sometimes there's a few that sneak through. That's why people like Cinder, your uncle and I are here: to get the ones that do and make sure no more show up."

"And Dad too?"

Summer did what she could to keep her features from forming a frown. Both she and Taiyang knew why he was more of a teacher and counselor at Signal more than the type of Huntsman who went out on missions. The answer was something Yang shouldn't learn until she was older. "Dad's been busy since he got his promotion, but yes." she nodded. "Let's just get you girls back."

* * *

"Do you have any idea how much danger they could've been in!?" Taiyang bellowed in the administration offices of Signal Academy. After the events of a half hour ago, an emergency meeting was called by Headmaster Auburn and the parents and relative of the Rose-Xiao Long sisters.

"Tai, calm the hell down." Qrow grumbled, rubbing his temples. "It's bad enough I deal with screaming kids and teenagers. I don't need my friend yelling now too."

"How can I be calm when my girls almost became Grimm chow?" Taiyang growled. "What's the point of having those sensors to detect Grimm in the woods if they didn't catch those ones?"

"Taiyang, these sensors are relatively new technology from Atlas." Auburn reasoned. "There are some that have made it through the perimeter before."

"But three Beowolves?" the blonde man growled, stepping forward before a palm holding him back by his chest from his wife stopped his advance on their boss's desk.

"Look, Tai, I know it's concerning too. You have no idea how much I was freaking out when I first heard them screaming, but let's focus on the fact that they're okay, alright?" Summer asked.

With a huff, Taiyang let out a long exhale. "Alright..." he nodded back, getting a peck on the cheek from Summer as thanks. "Where are they now, by the way?"

"Down at Nurse Ivy's office. Ruby skinned her knee while they were running." Summer explained.

"They can be excused for the rest of the day. They're probably still rattled from that ordeal." Auburn decided. "Summer, Taiyang, you two can leave as well. This is your family after all."

"Thanks, Jacob." Taiyang nodded as he and Summer left the office to pick up their daughters and return home, leaving the brown-jackeded headmaster and the dusty old crow to their own devices.

"He did bring up a good point there, Jake." Qrow muttered. "Now, a small Grimm's understandable, but those sensors should've picked up Grimm at least half a normal Beowolf's size."

"I know, Qrow." Auburn sighed. "I've already called for a recon team to scout the area, see if there's something up with them that may have missed those three."

* * *

The two inspected the piece of metal, quite obviously dug up and ripped to pieces by something that was definitely not human or weapon. "Quite the mess here, wouldn't you agree, Glynda?" the silver-haired Huntsman asked as he turned to the platinum blonde to his side, kneeling down to inspect the device for herself. She gave a simple nod to Ozpin as she picked up the largest piece, a black box that housed the actual sensing computer.

"I'm more concerned about what it means than the mess made." Glynda countered. "James designed these to be near indestructible so that Grimm that dig them up couldn't break them."

"You know, there's times I feel like Patty wouldn't enjoy you knowing that much about James." Ozpin joked, only for the sorceress to turn to him with an unamused expression on her face. "...You're right. Wrong place, wrong time." he sighed.

"How are you still that childish?" she asked.

"How are you not? We're not even thirty yet, you know." Ozpin shrugged. "Enjoy the youth while it lasts, I say!"

"Ozpin, we just spent three days at some of the most tedious negotiations I've ever had the displeasure to be a part of with little sleep. I'm not in the mood to joke around right now." Glynda growled.

"You're probably right..." Ozpin shrugged looking around at the trees. His eyes narrowed as he saw a single bird flying away from a dead tree above them. "Did you see that?" he asked.

Glynda looked up to the departing bird, being able to catch the red eyes of the black bird just before it left her hawk-like eyesight. "Even so, it's out of our range anyway." she sighed. "We should head back; let Auburn know about this."

As they left in the opposite direction back to Patch, the dwarf Nevermore flew the exact opposite of where civilization sat upon that island. Trees and small ponds below it turned into the rocky wasteland around the mountain in the center of the island. On a face that overlooked the sea to the south from a distance, the Nevermore landed on the shoulder of a lone man overlooking the scenery. The bird seemed to whisper something into his ear as he smirked at the 'words' it spoke.

"Good." October murmured. "The distraction is set." With that, two oozing black wings sprouted from his back and he took to the air towards the mainland.


	5. Chapter 5

_"In other news, besides our top story about the announcement of this year's Vytal Festival location, Huntsman around southwestern Vale, as well as the Isle of Patch, have found somewhat increased Grimm activity. Some sightings in both Mountain Glenn and outside Signal Academy today were reported and the Grimm were eliminated. Now over to Larry Lavender for the sports section."_

Taiyang flicked off the television before the news could continue. Beast that humanity have been fighting for thousands of years nearly killed his daughters, apparently popped up only a matter of miles away, and all the warning the public got of it was a twenty second spot on the local news.

"Something wrong?"

He turned to watch Summer walking back into the living room as the tv flicked off. "Don't you think the news that Grimm activity is building deserves more than a fifteen second soundbite?" he grumbled.

"Grimm are in the news everyday, Tai." Summer reasoned, sitting down next to them. He noticed in her hands was the drapes of a cloak Qrow had made for their youngest daughter. "Is that Ruby's?"

"Yeah, I was just tailoring it up so it's more her size and not more of a scarf for a Goliath." his redheaded wife chuckled before going back to finish the stitching.

"I don't think I've ever seen you work with clothes before..." Taiyang muttered as he watched her work.

"What are you talking about? Don't you remember those costumes I made for us and Team ORIG back in our Beacon days for Halloween? Qrow and Raven's mom taught-" Summer cut herself off as she realized whose name she had just said. "Oh, sorry...I didn't mean to bring her up."

"Summer, Raven's name isn't a swear word. I don't care if you say it or not." Tai smiled as he turned his eyes to her silver ones. "Besides, I've got you now."

"Oh, do you?" Summer asked back, nuzzling into his shoulder. "Prove it."

"I'd say that little four-year old ball of energy's proof enough." the blonde pointed out as he looked behind him into the kitchen, a head of black and red hair suddenly darting back behind the island as her cover was blown. "Ruby, what are you hiding for?"

The young girl popped her head back out at her dad's question. "I wanted to see if my hewo cape was done." she answered.

"Hero cape?" Taiyang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Almost, sweetie." Summer replied, knowing that's what she planned to call it. A few more stitches and it was finally finished being tailored more to Ruby's size. She then held it up for her biological daughter to marvel at with childlike wonder.

"It's perfect, Mama! Thank you!" Ruby squealed, hugging her mother's leg as she put it on, Summer helping her tie it around her neck.

"You're very welcome, Ruby. Now how about you go back to playing? I'll call you and Yang down when we start getting dinner ready." Summer instructed, her daughter nodding at that.

"Okay!" she cheered before running back to the stairs. "Cweatures of Gwimm, your weign of terror ends tonight!"

Taiyang almost cracked a smile at that exclamation as she ran back to her room. "Is that why she calls it her Hero Cape?" he asked.

"Something to get her mind off today's events." Summer shrugged. "I told her I could do something to her cape that'd make her more brave as long as she wore it."

"You know she's never going to take that off now, right?"

"I wear mine everywhere. What's wrong with her doing it?"

"Nothing with her. I just see less of your beautiful figure when you wear it."

"You are the cheesiest flirt ever."

"Guilty as charged."

The two burst into laughter as they leaned into each other on the sofa with a content sigh. They sat in silence for a bit before Tai flipped a button on the stereo speaker on the side table next to them, a twinkling melody from a song Summer hadn't heard in years reaching her eardrums.

"Our song? What's the occasion?" she asked.

"None." he replied. "Just to celebrate you being Super-Mom: slayer of monsters and sewer of capes extraordinaire."

She laughed as she leaned further in, pecking him on the cheek as the first verse came around.

 _"You are my star, you are the one,_

 _You make me smile when the world's come undone,_

 _You are the one that sweeps me off my feet, yeah..."_

* * *

At finishing schools for Huntsmen and Huntresses like Beacon, students do not leave their campus once lessons are done. They board in dormitories on the school grounds, where they stay for the entirety of their education at that academy. How Cinder wished that were the case for preliminary schools like Signal. From the point that school had ended, she took the express ferry to her home on the mainland of Vale, yet she did not live in the city. From the ferry docks, she took the subway to the town she lived in: Mountain Glenn. The settlement that had been established thirty years ago, with the help of Atlas as an olive branch extended to them after the great war, had prospered into quite the urban hub outside of the kingdom. It still required constant protection as it lacked the natural barriers that Vale had to keep the Grimm out. Massive anti-aircraft guns sat on each corner of the small metropolis to keep Nevermore at bay, with constant patrols of Huntmen and Atlesian troops on loan for security alike. Watching them work, slaying monsters each and every day from her bedroom window in the apartments on the outskirts of the city, made her want to apply to Signal. It's not like her stepmother cared. She and her stepsisters could care less what Cinder was doing as long as those after-school chores were done. If they weren't, well, the stepsisters were in charge of punishment. It was never anything that didn't make her feel degraded once they were through.

She hated them, probably more than they hated her. Why she was even adopted by such a woman who would willingly turn a blind eye as her two biological children tormented her was always at the back of her mind. She was dreading the chores they had planned for her once she got home from the train station. From the transportation hub, it was a short walk to the eastern perimeter of the city to one of the apartment buildings in the area.

"I'm home..." she called as she entered the second floor apartment. No reply. This was odd to her. Usually, on school days, she'd come home to be interrogated why she was home so late, the answer being that it does take about an hour after classes end at Signal to get from the academy to Mountain Glenn. You'd think they'd get the message about that by now. But no reply to her entering the house whatsoever. The lights were out as well, the television left on one of her stepmom's soap operas. If they were here, they must have left in a hurry, but to where?

A muffled whimper from down the hall leading to the bedrooms was caught by her ears. Slowly drawing her swords from the holsters on her lower back, she gingerly stepped through the living room, cursing herself for every creak of the floorboards under her steps. The sound came from the only lit room in the house: her stepmother's bedroom. A room she was never allowed to set foot in, even if she was putting away laundry. The light coming from it wasn't artificial though. Instead of normal lamp light, it was almost flickering, as if the bed was alight with fire for whatever reason. She slowly walked to the end of the hall, using the tip of the blade in her right hand's grip to push the door open slightly enough to look inside. She was shocked to see for herself her step-family bound and gagged as they were knelt in front of her stepmother's bed, a man in formal attire standing in front of them, his entire left hand engulfed in flames.

"Ah, Cinder. We've been expecting you." he said, not turning to face her.

Her cover blown, she lunged forward, kneeling on the bed with both her blades wrapped around the neck of the intruder, in front of the three hostages. "Whoever you are, I suggest you leave before I do something I regret." she threatened.

"I know you, Cinder. You wouldn't do something such as that." he mused.

"You don't know me at all!" she yelled, pressing the blades to his neck more closely, just a hair away from drawing blood. "How do you know me, huh? Who are you?"

He carefully turned to face her. Cinder's eyes widened as she recognized the eyes that mirrored hers perfectly. A set of eyes she never thought she'd see again.

"Hello, my daughter." October smiled as he looked Cinder in the eye.


	6. Chapter 6

Cinder stood there in disbelief, the man who fathered her standing over her, in front of her foster family he had taken hostage. "I don't understand..How did you find me? What is all this?" she asked. This whole situation was unnerving to her, more so and so by the second.

"I've been keeping tabs on you since we were all separated, remember?" October replied, forcing Cinder to recall a particularly painful memory of hers: the day her family fell apart. She and her older and younger sisters were living in Atlas when men in suits and armor took her father away, then started separating them one by one. "As for all this, I found out how they've been treating you, and to be truthful, I may have overreacted."

The gag on Cinder's stepmother was spat out as she wriggled her jaw free of the obstruction. "Cinder, what are you doing!? This man is a psychopath! Call the police, you stupid girl!" She was ready to berate her adopted child more, were it not the ball of black flames forming in front of her in the palm of October's hand, waving in front of her face to shut her up.

"Please, Miss. We were talking." October ordered, snuffing the flames as he clenched his hand into a fist. "Now, Cinder, what do you say? Shall we return home. Violet's already waiting."

As much as she wanted to return to her old life with her real family, all of this seemed off to Cinder. She didn't understand what was going on, how her father had found her, and why she would do this to her stepmother and stepsisters, no matter what they did to her in the past. "I...I want to, but..." her eyes trailed to her bound and gagged adopted family, dropping her weapons to her side. "What about them?"

"Don't you worry. Just gather some belongings and we'll go." October nodded, picking up her dropped swords and handing them back to her. "I'll talk with them about your new living arrangements."

Hesitantly, Cinder looked at them, the three women on the floor trying to scream at her through their gags to beg her not to go. She left anyway, returning to her room where she gathered a few sets of clothes and more belongings into her backpack. She paused as she looked at a framed photo on her dresser, the image inside depicting her and Summer's first training session together. Both of them had big smiles on their faces, and the young Huntress in training covered in dirt from getting scuffed up during their sparring practice. At the sound of the door down the hall clicking shut, she quickly placed the picture into her bag before leaving her room, looking to her father as he motioned for them to leave. "Are we returning home now?" Cinder asked, hopeful that things were truly returning to normal.

"I just need to take care of one thing before we leave." October explained, leading her towards the door. "How about you tell me what you've been up to since we've been apart." he suggested as he lead her to the front door. Cinder relaxed at the suggestion of casual conversation as she was lead out. Maybe this was going to be normal after all.

If only she noticed the blood pooling from under the door of the room her stepfamily was in.

* * *

"Alright, girls. Go get ready for bath time." Summer ordered as she put the last of the leftovers from dinner into the fridge.

"Aww, do we have to?" Yang asked. She was always the one who wasn't interested in bath time.

"You both need it, Little Firecracker." Taiyang agreed. "I can smell you from a mile away earlier." he chuckled.

"No you couldn't!" Yang pouted, not enjoying the joke or the fact it was getting her half sister into a giggling fit.

"Well, how about you go get washed up to make sure you prove him wrong?" Summer decided as she moved to the sink to take care of cleaning the dishes.

"Fine! That way, I'll prove to you I don't stink!" Yang boasted as she marched to the bathroom upstairs.

"Works every time." Taiyang smirked as she watched her ascend the steps.

"Why does Yang not like baths, Daddy?" Ruby asked, looking up at him as she helped her down from her chair at the kitchen table.

"That's a question whose answer we'll never know, Rubes." Tai shrugged as he placed her down. "You go get ready too. Either your mother or I will be up in a bit to get you girls bathed."

"Okay!" Ruby smiled and nodded, running up the stairs, her new cape fluttering behind her as she rushed upstairs after her sister.

"I forget, is it your turn or mine to give them a bath?" the blonde asked, turning to his wife.

"You pull this trick every night, Tai. It's still not working." Summer deadpanned as she placed another plate on the drying rack next to the sink.

"Come on, Summer. Yang ends up getting me more wet than she does every time." Tai complained. Summer knew he wasn't kidding. Every time Taiyang bathed the girls, he ended up leaving the bathroom soaked through to his underwear from Yang splashing around. He even needed to get a new Scroll in one instance where it somehow fell into the tub from his pocket. Moral of that story: always buy the waterproof models.

Summer was ready to berate him for trying to get out of the nightly routine after the long day they had, but a series of knocks on the door stopped her from doing so. She placed the last of the dishes on the rack as she dried her hands with a dishcloth and moved from the kitchen to the front door, her husband right behind her as she opened it. Before she could even turn the handle, she knew who it was. She could smell the bourbon on his breath even through the door.

"What brings you here now, Qrow?" Summer asked as she opened the door to see their old teammate. The look on his face though didn't seem like he was here just for the sake of stopping by. His expression seemed to be the usual serious look he had in professional settings and on hunts and missions. "What?" she asked.

"He's back, you two." Qrow simply said.

"Who?" Taiyang asked, unsure of what he meant, but Summer's silver eyes went wide as she realized who the drunkard was referring to.

"October Fall..."

* * *

"...and that leads up to today where we were practicing my semblance more. It turns out I've got an arcane semblance." Cinder finished, detailing her life to her father as they descended into the undercity, a district of Mountain Glenn that was an experimental way of living by developing the caverns below the city above into a community complete with multi-story buildings and roads large enough for trucks to drive along.

"Is that so?" October asked, genuinely interested. "That's something you got from my side of the family alright."

"Mrs. Rose did say that some semblances are passed down through generations of a family." Cinder noted out loud, not noticing the grimace her father made at the mention of Summer's name. How could she know? She was too young to remember and was nowhere nearby the day he was exposed and arrested.

"Well, she's right. You can learn to control it under me as my mother taught me when I was your age." October said as he began turning the opposite direction of the station.

"I'm fine, Father. The teachers at Signal..." she started to disagree before noticing where they were. The street ahead of them lead to the edge of the cavern's lowest level. Nothing was ahead except the sealed off entrance to the deeper caverns where subterranean Grimm lived. The city council was planning to send Huntsmen in to clear them out before expansion began, but the variables of how many Grimm were burrowed beneath them kept halting progress. "Wait...this isn't the way to the station. Why are we coming this way?"

"Cinder..." October started. "What I'm about to tell you may seem rash, but just know, I'm telling you this because I love you."

Cinder became more uneasy at this statement. Whatever it was he was about to tell her couldn't be good. "What are you talking about?" Cinder asked, slowly backing away from him.

"Cinder...Huntsmen and Huntresses...the ones who train you...They're the ones that separated us." October announced. "The one you know as Summer was the leader of the team that fabricated a series of lies that they used to separate us." He looked upon the cavern door ahead of them, then back to Cinder, who was completely mortified by this information.

"Wh-Why'd they do this?" Cinder asked, believing it for herself.

"The abilities you possess were granted by a freak Dust accident you were too young to remember. They believed I did it on purpose. You turned out okay, but your Aura was altered with the properties of fire dust. Violet was affected too, and I can only hope to God your younger sisters didn't." October explained.

"That explains the fire..." Cinder though aloud, summoning a tiny flicker of flame in the palm of her hand. "But, how would Viridia and Alex get it?"

"It was the day they were born..." said October as he went on to explain the infamous day for their family. According to him, their mother brought them to his work at the Schnee Dust Company labs for a surprise. He warned them to stay back from the Dust machines, but it was too late. The Dust energy exploded from inside the devices and residue embedded itself in the Auras of his family. The amount their mother took was too much, adding to the complications she died from delivering the twins. "...I tried to fight them off to protect you, but they bested me, and we were separated."

"Then why would they lie to me?" Cinder asked, getting angry. "Why would they keep me from getting to my full potential?"

"Because they remember you too." October explained. "They know what you're capable of, and they fear it. That's why I can teach you better than they can, let you live up to your full potential..." He paused as he looked back to the sealed tunnel ahead of them. As he squinted, he could swear he saw an ancient hieroglyph on a corner of the seal. "I don't think you'll understand what I have to do here, but in time, you will."

Before his daughter could ask what he meant, October had brought a hand to the seal. Underneath his palm, the red colored design centered around a stylized image of an eye appeared, glowing against the stone before the seal began to crack and crumble. The same red glow began to shine through these cracks, and in almost an instant, the seal shattered with a loud crash, a cloud of dust and rubble blanketing the area and causing Cinder to go into a coughing fit. As she recovered, she looked up in fear as something in the tunnel ahead of her looked back. Something with glowing red eyes.

* * *

"I don't understand." Taiyang pondered aloud. "How did Fall get free from Atlas? That new prison is supposed to be impregnable."

"That's typical for Atlas if you ask me." Qrow shrugged. "Either way, Jimmy's coming in with a team to take him back. Ozpin and Glynda are already headed off to Mountain Glenn as backup."

"Hmm...It'll almost be like a reunion for all of us." Summer said optimistically. "I haven't seen James in three years, since his daughter was born."

"Yeah, if only we weren't going after a dangerous psycho and Roman and Raven didn't go rogue." Qrow grumbled, taking a swig of his flask

"We don't know that, Qrow." Taiyang growled, not ready to entertain the thought his ex-wife and Qrow's sister had betrayed them. He was ready to say more before the ringtone of his brother in law's Scroll went off, the already graying Huntsman picking it up.

"Ozpin, you and Glyn make it to Mountain Glenn yet?" he asked.

"Yes, but..." Ozpin started, pausing as if he had lost the words to say. "You may want to turn on a television."

Not liking the answer, Qrow was about to ask why, but the click on the other end got it through to the Scroll's owner that Ozpin had hung up. Motioning to the television, Summer turned it on, and all three adults were horrified at the scenes on the newscast on screen. A reporter was standing in front of the stairwells leading to its undercity as a crowd was frantically running out of the underground, some covered in blood, others having to carry injured friends, family, or just being good samaritans as they helped wounded strangers out.

"This is Cindy Cerulea reporting for VNN at Mountain Glenn. Authorities have confirmed a Level 11 Grimm threat has broken out in the undercity and the creatures are attacking the public. Atlas military personnel have told us that the threat is being contained, but not before the swarm had broken into the residential area..." she was cut off as the tunnel leading underground suddenly broke apart as a massive Creep broke through, roaring loudly and causing the citizens to scream in panic as they ran off in all directions. One of them knocked straight through Cindy and her cameraman, knocking the recording device to the ground, not cutting off in time to hear the reporter's screams as the Creep grabbed her and a severed arm holding a microphone fell into the shot. As soon as the hand fell into the shot, the screen switched to the multicolored bars to indicate the broadcast had gone off air.

"Dear Monty in heaven..." Summer gasped as she watched the carnage.

"We need to go now, help evacuate the city and get those things under control." Qrow ordered.

"What about October?" Taiyang asked.

"In case you didn't just watch the TV, Tai, that kinda doesn't matter now!" he snapped back.

"Well, what about the kids?" Summer asked. They couldn't just leave Ruby and Yang by their lonesome as they rushed off to save the day.

"Summer, I'll stay." Taiyang volunteered. Before she could protest, he continued to explain. "If I know anyone who can put a stop to this and be back by morning, it's you. Plus, at least one of us should stay to keep them from thinking something's wrong.

"Is something wrong?"

All three turned to see Yang poking her head out from behind the kitchen island. "Mommy, Daddy? Is something happening?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, Lil' Firecracker." Qrow spoke up, walking over and patting his older niece on the head. "I just came over cuz a super cool mission just came up and we're short a member for our team. I asked your mom here to join me."

"And I said yes, Yang." Summer nodded, adding to the lie for her own protection.

Yang smiled at the thought of her mom going off to be a hero again, but then another thought crossed her young mind. "But wait, what about you, Daddy?"

"Well, somebody's gotta stay here and make sure you and your sister are put to bed." Taiyang answered. "Speaking of which, get Ruby down here so she can say goodnight before Mom gets going."

Yang nodded as she ran back upstairs to get Ruby as Taiyang turned back to his wife, who was already getting her scythes ready.

"Level 11 threats are the most dangerous one in the system, Summer." Taiyang reminded, sounding nervous

"I know, Tai."

"If something happens..."

"Tai, the only thing that's going to happen is I'm going in there, I'm going to kill some Grimm, I'm gonna recapture October Fall, then come home and sleep in. Any problems?"

"No...just...Please be careful." Taiyang asked, giving his wife a hug.

"Mama?" Ruby's voice interrupted. The two looked down to see Ruby and Yang walking up to them. "Where are you going?"

"Mommy has to go to work, Ruby." Summer smiled, hiding the serious nature of this mission.

"But...it's awmost bed time..."

"I know. I won't be back in time to put you back to bed." Summer said, before noticing her daughter was getting an upset look on her face. "But nothing to worry about. When I come back tomorrow, we'll see each other again, and we'll do some fun stuff.

"Can we go to Gav's restaurant for dinner?" Yang asked.

"Sure!" Summer nodded.

"And make cookies?" Ruby suggested.

"As many as you want." Summer chuckled, not feeling the tear dripping down her cheek.

"Don't cry, Mama! We see you tomorrow too!" Ruby smiled as she hugged her, Yang joining in. Using a free hand to dry her eyes, Summer nodded.

"That's right, girls. Now...go back to getting ready for bath time. I'll see you in the morning when I get back home." Summer smiled.

"Okay! Bye-bye, Mama!" Ruby smiled as she reached up and pecked Summer on the cheek, the motherly Huntress returning the kiss to both her daughters' foreheads before they ran back upstairs.

"Summer, it's time we got going." Qrow reiterated. "We've got a Bullhead waiting for us down the road."

"Let's go then." Summer agreed as Qrow began walking out the door. She turned back to Taiyang one more time for a hug before she left. "I'm coming back, you know."

"I know..."Taiyang said. "It's just the doubt in the back of my mind, you know? Just, what if something..." he continued before Summer pressed her lips to his in order to shut him up.

"You worry and talk too much." Summer smirked as she turned to the door, giving her husband one last glance before she closed the door and followed her old teammate to the Bullhead.


	7. Chapter 7

"Stay with me, Coin! The evac ships are almost here!"

Coin could only lay there, struggling to breathe through the punctured lung she sustained fighting off the Grimm with her three man team that was once Beacon's Team DMNO. Her dark grey hair was matted with grime and copper eyes fluttering as she struggled to hold on.

"B-Bart..." she managed to choke out.

"Save your strength..." Bartholomew Oobleck begged his companion as he tried to keep pressure on his wound. "We already lost Darko in the caves. I can't lose you!"

"I...I'm sorry to...dissappoint..." Coin sighed, sadly watching as Bart's face formed an expression of pure devastation. "Don't cry, Bart...Y-you have to be strong now...For me, for Darko...and Midna, wherever she is..." she paused for another violent cough... "and...if there's one thing I regret...it's not...saying yes..."

"That's nothing to worry about, Coin..." Bart whimpered. "Please...just stay with me."

"I wish..I could..." Coin smiled through the pain that felt as if it was fading as a bright light started taking over her vision. "I'm...sorry...Bart..."

And with one last exhale, Bart was now the lone survivor of Team DMNO. He let out silent sob as he caressed his fallen love's body one last time, not caring who in the safe area set up by the Huntsmen saw. Nobody could fault him. Not many of the first responding Huntsmen that were already present in Mountain Glenn had their whole teams survive the Grimm overflow in the undercity. On the other end of the medical tent, at least a dozen body bags of Huntsmen, policemen, and Atlesian soldiers were set up for their extraction pending the next wave of dropships arriving from Patch or Vale. Coin would be going back to her hometown in Vale with them.

"Sir...I know this is hard for you right now, but we need to prep her for extraction." a sympathetic voice said, as Bart felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see an Atlesian soldier with the patch that labeled her as a combat medic, looking down at him.

"I know..." he muttered, turning back to Coin, giving her one last kiss before standing up from her body as the medic and a Knight combat drone carried her away. As he turned away as she was brought away, the medic pulling a shroud over her as they marched over to the storage area for the victims of this Grimm attack, he heard a voice he hadn't heard in years.

"Bart?"

He looked up as two familiar faces walked over to him. "Summer...Qrow..." he choked out as the weight of the loss of his team hit him. The green-haired Huntsman fell into the approaching duo, who caught him in a group embrace that surprised Summer and confused Qrow.

"Easy, big guy." Qrow patted the man's back as he felt a dampness growing on his shoulder where Bartholomew's head was resting.

"Bart...Where's your team?" Summer asked. He gave no response, giving the message to both of them that he was all that was left. "Oh my-Bart, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she hugged him tighter. "If we were here faster, maybe we could've-"

"There were just too many..." Bartholomew spoke up, suppressing his sobs for a moment. "I-I froze up...A-A-And then Darko...and Coin..."

"...Say no more, bud." Qrow sighed, taking out his flask as he sat the lone survivor down on a cot with him. "I think you need this more than I do."

"Thank you both for the sympathy..." Bartholomew nodded, wiping his tears on his duster's sleeve. "...but, if you remember, Qrow, I don't drink."

"Well, I find that it tastes better than that dirt water you call coffee..." he started before a glare from Summer shut him up. "You know what? Wrong place, wrong time."

Summer softened her gaze as they turned back to Bart. "Bartholomew..." she began. "I know you're hurting right now, but I need to ask. While you were down there, did you see anyone suspicious?"

Bartholomew thought it over for a moment as he retraced his steps through the recent painful memories of the first few minutes of the breach. "No." he said, shaking his head. "Everyone was trying to run for the exits, and all that was left after the civilians evacuated were first responders like us to keep the Grimm back."

"Summer." Qrow spoke up, his team leader looking over to him. "It's one face in thousands. I doubt he'd be able to pick him out."

* * *

 **45 Minutes Earlier...**

Cinder opened her eyes from her position, tucked into a ball on the floor of the undercity. She poked her head out, wincing at the deafening sound of the stampeding Grimm; the stampede she herself was smack dab in the center of. She slowly rolled over into a crouching position, slowly rising as a large Creep skidded to a stop beside her, letting out a gutteral roar as it turned its head towards her. Frozen in fear, Cinder prepared to become the beast's dinner, but instead of gobbling her up as this particular species of Grimm normally would, it clenched its jaw shut and sniffed her. Letting out what she could guess was a satisfied huff as it continued onward with its monstrous brethren.

"What?" she thought out loud as the Creep ran off. How did she not get killed by that beast? She rose to full height as she looked around her. The swarm of Creeps and the occasional King Taijitu continued to pour out of the collapsed hole her father had opened. Speaking of him, he stood his ground in front of her as the Grimm pouring out of the cave slowed down to a trickle. "This...This is..."

"Marvelous, isn't it?" October asked, gazing into the cave.

"Horrifying!" Cinder spat out, looking around. Everywhere she looked, the Grimm were ransacking the buildings and attacking innocent people. Fires were breaking out, and judging by the horrific screams she could hear from around the corner of a nearby building, these beasts were out on the hunt. "How could you do this? You just unleashed hundreds of monsters on a city full of innocent people!"

"I warned you that you would not understand." October sighed. "I was worried this would happen as well. What I'm looking for was foretold to be buried under this city, but there wouldn't this be this many Grimm inside the tomb it was sealed away in."

"This still doesn't make any sense!" Cinder growled, drawing her swords again. "Tell me now what it is you're looking for that makes all of this okay!" she ordered, gesturing to the destruction behind them.

"You will never understand as long as you stay this angry and confused." October tried to reason, sighing as Cinder refused to lower her weapons at his first request. "Cinder, what I'm seeking will aid in my bid to prove my innocence and bring to justice those Huntsmen and Huntresses. It is an ancient power sealed away by the first Huntsmen, in underground tombs sealed shut to keep out any Grimm trying to break inside."

"And why would these things want whatever was inside?" Cinder glared.

"I can explain it all after we get out of here." October answered. "We need to depart in case this cave before they try to separate us again. You don't want that, do you?"

Cinder looked to her father, then back to the undercity. She could see that the Grimm had begun to ascend to the city above them. She felt guilty that the man responsible for unleashing these monsters was right in front of her, and she didn't have the heart to bring him to justice. Disgusted with herself, she re-sheathed her weapons on the holsters on her back. As much as she wanted to do the right thing, family came first. "No...I don't." she finally answered.

A glint came over October's eye as he smirked. "Come. Our path is clear for now." he gestured, leading Cinder away from the cavern.

* * *

 **"I see lives that could have been saved." - Dr. Oobleck, RWBY Volume 2: Episode 9 - "Search and Destroy"**

 **I like to think of that quote as a hint that Oobleck wasn't just alive at the time that Mountain Glenn fell, but played a part in witnessing it fall from inside the doomed settlement. Not only that, but as I began planning out this story, I thought it'd be a great idea to fit in that hint to give him a cameo appearance, as well as show what happened to his team: DMNO.**

 **I first mentioned Team DMNO in my one shot "Hall of Success". They were a team that consisted of Bartholomew Oobleck, Darko Donald, Coin Nickleson, and Midna Belladonna. And yes, before you ask, there is relation in that name. If anyone's read my other works, Midna was Blake's mother who died after giving birth to her while living with the White Fang. I like to think both she and her sister, Blake's aunt Noire, both attended Beacon as students before returning home and joining the White Fang back in its days as a peaceful organization. I want to explore more of that story in a future fic, but for now, that's going on the back burner.**

 **Anyway, I doubt the rest of Team DMNO knew what happened to Midna after she and Noire left Beacon, but we now know what happened to them. It's tragic, but the real world doesn't always have fairy tale endings, and this fic is intended to be a tragedy. Still, I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a follow and a comment, (I read all of them), and I'll see you lads and lasses next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

"I know it's hard right now, Bart, but you stay strong. Okay?" Summer asked of him as she gave him one last hug before leaving the tent, Qrow already waiting by the entrance. "I feel awful for him."

"I know, but it's one of the risks we knew when we signed up for this job." Qrow nodded. "It's a shame though. DMNO could've been a pretty great team further down the line." he reminisced, thinking of the team that were freshmen when STRQ were two years ahead of them at Beacon. Summer was a tutor to Bart back in their day, and Raven helped their other teammate, Midna Belladonna, with her swordsmanship. Now wasn't the time to remember that though, as they walked over to a staging area, where a new wave of Huntsmen were prepping to quell the Grimm outbreak. They ranged from current Beacon seniors to Huntsmen more seasoned than them, some of which included familiar faces.

"Arno Arc?" Qrow spoke up as the blonde turned to him.

"Well, I needed to see something nice for a change." the paladin smirked. The man who stood an inch short of Qrow's height turned to face them, his blue eyes locking with his old friend as his full set of white and gold armor pads over his black blazer and black pants gleamed in the spotlights of the command post. Next to him was a mountain of a man with dark red hair and a thin beard, decked out in bronze armor with a hoplite's helmet under his arm. "Hephaestus, you remember Qrow and Summer, right?"

"You didn't even need to ask, Arnie!" Hephaestus chuckled as he brought the two in close for a half handshake, half hug. "It's good to see you both, even under the circumstances."

"Likewise, Nikos." Qrow smirked at his Vytal Festival rival. "You came all the way from Mistral to help out in this?"

"No, just vacationing in Vale when the call for aid here caught my ears." the Mistralian warrior replied. "It's my daughter Pyrrha's first trip outside her home kingdom." he continued, fishing a picture of a cute, redheaded girl Yang's age in a vermillion sundress and sandals in one of the flower fields in Vale's agricultural district.

"She's adorable!" Summer cooed. "Gets alot of looks from her father, huh?" she asked as the brute shrugged with the hint of a blush.

"Next time, let me know when you're coming to visit by the way." Arno reminded. "I've got a set of twins her age back home that would've loved to meet your family. Jaune and Jeanne are both her age I believe."

"Well, we're gonna have to do that after saving this place." Summer sighed, looking out of the staging area and into the burning and crumbling city. The happy reunion faded almost instantaneously as they all remembered why they were here.

"Right...Well, James has his men assembling the second wave up ahead. We should probably get to that." Arno suggested. With simultaneous nods, the four Huntsmen and Huntress headed over to a group further ahead of where they stood, where Huntsmen of all ages from senior year Beacon students to seasoned veterans such as the legendary Peter Port were mingled in with Atlesian troops preparing to repel the Grimm invasion as they discussed their upcoming assignments.

"They're saying the whole undercity is crawling with those Creep things." they overheard one Huntress say.

"That's true. Didn't you see the size of that one that took down the VNN's reporter on live TV?" her friend responded.

"I'm starting to think this place is a lost cause, sir." a young soldier sighed defeatedly.

"I'm not letting it become one, Corporal." the officer he was speaking to replied. "My family is still out there, and I'll be damned if I leave them to die out there!"

Walking through until they made it to the epicenter of the crowd, they came across the lead Atlesian officer, Major James Ironwood among an older, blonde gentleman in a matching mustard-colored suit, a cutlass on his hip, as well as two other familiar faces to the four.

"You're sure there's no other way, James?" Ozpin asked.

"Oz, these orders came directly from the Council of Vale themselves." one of the officers said dejectedly. "I'm not fond of it either, but it's an executive order."

Glynda turned to the man in the yellow suit. "Professor Goldenrod, we're seriously not considering this, are we?" the young mage asked.

"I'm sorry, my former students." Goldenrod sighed. "Even I am obliged to obey this order if it comes from the governing council."

"Hey, what order?" Summer asked, announcing their presence as they walked up to the group.

"Summer, Qrow. We're glad you're here." Ozpin solemnly greeted his comrades.

"Same to you, Arno, Hephaestus." James nodded to the two gentlemen by them.

"Yeah, nice to see you all again too." Qrow grumbled. "Now what's this order, and why haven't we been sent in yet?"

James let out a sigh of defeat. "Guess there's no longer keeping it a secret. We're pulling out and evacuating any remaining civilians."

"What?" Summer gasped.

"Summer, all radar relays that are still functioning at the furthest points of the city from us are showing massive quantities of Grimm moving on the city. Ursai, Deathstalkers, even Goliaths and Griffins are being spotted by our ships." James tried to reason.

"This can't be the only solution." Arno spoke up. "Can't we go with some sort of flanking maneuver to cut them off before they hit the city?"

"It wouldn't work." Glynda explained. "James' commanding officer took a detachment to try and bolster the eastern side of the city a half-hour before you arrived. He hasn't returned or responded since, and our last transmission from anyone in that area said a Deathstalker breached the perimeter with more following behind it."

"What if we had more reinforcements? We could send them through the subway system and attack these beasts closer to where they first breached." Hephaestus suggested.

"Even if we could amass more men in Vale, sending them through the subway is impossible." Goldenrod shook his head. "The chief of police informed me of a track maintenance crew a quarter mile out of Vale station hearing Grimm coming towards them. They've already sealed off the tunnel."

"Tch, figures..." Qrow growled in frustration, taking a swig from his flask.

"Then...what can we do?" Summer asked, trying to find any alternative to letting another settlement fall to a Grimm attack.

"Exactly what we've been ordered to do." the young major answered. "Now, it's going to be a shitshow explaining this to the others, but we can't delay-"

Whatever James was going to finish saying was interrupted as a loud crash, followed by an explosion, came from the fence separating the staging area perimeter from the city. They looked over to see one of the Atlesian gunships wrecked into the ground with a moderately sized Nevermore presenting its wings in a menacing way as it screeched at them. Most of the soldiers and Huntsmen were startled by its sudden appearance, coupled with the fact such a small Grimm could take down an aircraft of that size.

"Stay back!" Glynda shouted as she stepped forward, pointing her crop at the Nevermore as it bolted forward at her. As it got within a yard of her, two squares of concrete were carved out of the ground by her spectral energy, crushing the flying monster between it before it could attack her.

"They've breached the perimeter!" Hephaestus announced. Back at the crash site, some Beowolves started crawling over the smoldering wreck of the gunship, and snarling at the humans and Faunus inside.

"Everyone, listen!" James shouted among the strike force, drawing a handgun as he took aim towards the approaching Grimm. "New plan! We need half of you to stay here and defend this area. The rest of you, follow Goldenrod and get any civilians still in the city out!"

"Rescue group, follow me!" Goldenrod ordered as he lead a group consisting of the six Huntsmen and Huntresses towards the gate exit.

"Tally-ho, students!" Professor Port shouted as he lead another group behind them, the rest staying alongside Ironwood as they took defensive positions near the perimeter breach.

* * *

Outside the safe zone set up by the military was complete pandemonium. An outer perimeter set up with a ragtag bunch of injured soldiers and sentry turrets were the last bastion of defense from the Grimm trying to get to the evacuation zone set up where Summer and Qrow landed. Grimm of all kinds were advancing on their position, some making it through as they cut down another soldier or destroyed one of the turrets. Their momentum was halted as a flurry of blades and bullets from the approaching Huntsmen came virtually out of nowhere. Summer and Ozpin took point as the brunette Huntress carved through beast after beast with Waning Crescent. Ozpin covered her left as he batted away the Grimm with his cane stick while impaling them on his cane's hidden sword.

Behind them Glynda, Hephaestus and Qrow focused their power on larger Grimm such as Ursai and Deathstalkers. Glynda used her telekinesis to pick up debris and hurl it at multiple targets. Qrow would dash forward as Summer and Ozpin bypassed the larger monsters, using his scythe's superior cutting power to slash through the heavily armored Grimm like a hot knife through butter. As Professors Goldenrod and Port lead their students further behind them, with Arno protecting their rear, they both turned to see a Griffon divebombing them, crashing through the group of students, and nearly grabbing one in its talons were it not for the pike of Hephaestus driving through its skull before it could carry them off.

"Good shot, Mister Nikos!" Port complimented over the crack of his blunderbuss. "I almost feel jealous you weren't trained by me."

"You had Arno, Peter." Hephaestus huffed, ripping his pike free from the dissipating corpse of the Griffon. "And he's doing well with that relic of a weapon."

"I'll take that as a compliment!" Arno called from the rear of the crowd, gripping the antique hilt of Crocea Mors as he used it to decapitate an Ursa that had tried to punch through his shield.

As the wave of Grimm advancing on them disappeared after their defeat at the hands of eight Huntsmen and a group of about twelve Beacon students, the group took a moment to reload any projectile-based weapons, check their bladed weapons for any damage, or at the very least, catch their breath for a moment.

"Good work so far, everyone." Goldenrod congratulated as he sheathed his cutlass. "Now, split into your groups and spread out into the city. Evacuate any civilians you come across to the safe zone."

"You heard the headmaster, students! Move out!" Port ordered as the students split into their groups and spread into the burning city streets teeming with Grimm.

"I couldn't imagine what these kids are feeling right now." Summer thought as she watched the groups leave. "This is too intense of a mission, even for seniors."

"As much as I could agree, Miss Rose, we don't have time for that now." Goldenrod replied.

"At the time they were called in, the attack wasn't at this magnitude." Ozpin reasoned. "Now, just we just need to finish clearing the city. Qrow, take Summer, Arno, and Hephaestus and check the north side of the upper city."

"The rest of us will stay in the central district while the professors coordinate their students over the radio, as well as check and clear the area." Glynda finished.

"Right. We'll meet back as soon as we can confirm the city has been cleared of all civilians." Arno nodded as the two teams separated.

Running through the streets, the four of them took stock of their surroundings. The city was full of buildings torn apart by multiple types of Grimm, the chunks of concrete, steel, and shattered glass from said buildings littering the streets along the bloodstains of telltale successful hunts by the creatures attacking the town. Needless to say, there were quite alot.

As they ran through the city streets in a collective silence except for their footsteps, the sounds of coughing from a burning warehouse nearby caught their attention. "Did you hear that?" Hephaestus asked, looking for the source.

"Hey, Huntsmen! We're *cough* saved! Up here!" a voice called. Looking to the source, they saw a young man in a scuffed up suit, waiving them down from a hole in the wall two stories above the ground. From it, a cloud of smoke was billowing from it, as well as from the roof, which they could only infer had caved in from the huge black cloud pouring from the top of the three-story building. "Help us!"

"Don't worry! We're on it!" Summer called back as she searched for a way inside. Luckily, the front door was open, making the risk for backdraft minimal. She moved to go inside, pulling her hood up to protect herself from the heat, Qrow wrapping his cape over the lower half of his face to prevent inhaling the smoke. They were about to run inside when the sound of growling from behind them. They turned to face a baker's dozen of Creeps surrounding them.

"You guys go in. We'll hold them off!" Arno announced, raising Crocea Mors again. Hephaestus stepped to his side, both hands gripping his pike and twisting as the weapon began to shift into a bolt action rifle.

"Careful you guys!" Qrow responded as he and Summer dashed into the burning building.

"It's yourselves you should be worried about!" the Arc joked, turning back to his partner. "Alright, let's take these guys on with our team attack! Arkos!"

"Wait, what?" Hephaestus asked, with an eyebrow raised.

"Wha- you know, team attacks? I figured we'd call ours Arkos." Arno shrugged, lowering his weapons. "Both our last names combined?"

"Right, I got that..." the Mistralian nodded hesitantly.

"...You don't like it, do you?" Arno asked dejectedly. The Creeps just shared confused, awkward glances at one another as the two humans continued their conversation.

"No, no, it's good, Arnie. I just didn't have a say in the matter of it. What if I wanted to call it Nikarc?" The red-bearded warrior asked.

"Well, that just sounds silly." The blonde paladin chuckled to himself before the roar of an impatient Creep snapped the two Huntsmen out of their talk.

"Oh, right." Hephaestus blinked as the two men readied their weapons once more. "Sorry to keep you all waiting."

* * *

The heat inside the building was intense as flames crackled around the two teammate, both searching for a way to the third story where that civilian, and possibly others were trapped. The two found a staircase that lead up the side wall straight to the roof, with landings on each floor. Looking ahead through the smoke, they noticed the ceiling had caved in halfway up, making that way impassable. No wonder those people couldn't get out. "Great, how are we supposed to get them down?" Qrow asked.

"I have an idea. Hold on a second." his former leader thought aloud as she ascended the stairs as far as she could, ending on the second floor where she began checking the ceiling for any other caved in spots. A sliver just too small for her to fit through would be perfect. She tapped the earpiece on her left ear, turning on her wireless communicator linked to her Scroll. "Can you hear me, Qrow?"

"Yeah, you see anything?" her friend answered.

"Just fire your weapon at the roof downstairs. I'll clear the path the rest of the way." she responded, readying her scythes. With a shrug, Qrow pressed the lever on his weapon's handle as its twin cannons were pointed upward. With the crack of a gunshot, Qrow opened up a hole between the ground and second floors as Summer chucked her scythes at the small sliver that had fallen out from the ceiling above her. As they caught themselves, she gave a strong tug, and the rest of the paneling fell to the floor, forming a makeshift ramp to the third floor. She took a few cautious steps up to make sure it was stable enough to walk up and down on before fully walking up to the top floor. Through the fire, she counted at least twenty people of all ages, classes, and races in varying states of well-being. Most were coughing from smoke inhalation while others had covered themselves to protect the flames. One rabbit Faunus woman who was pregnant cowered and tried hiding her daughter, who looked to be about Yang's age , away from the silhouette whom she couldn't make out through the smoke. "It's okay, everyone! I'm here to get you out of here!" she announced over the roar of the inferno.

"Thank Oum!" a young man shouted "Lead the way, miss!"

"There's a hole or a staircase on the floor below you can take. My friend on the ground floor will help you the rest of the way out." she informed, pointing down the ramp. "Let's get any women, children, or injured people out first, okay?"

With a collective agreement, the trapped civilians moved to help any injured people, some ranging from scratches and bruises to broken limbs, down alongside the few women and children descending the second floor.

"Velvet, sweetie, be careful!" the rabbit Faunus mother cautioned as her child stepped in front of her.

"I am, Mum!" she called back as they continued out of sight down into the lower levels of the burning building.

As the rest filed their way out, Summer stopped the man she first spotted when they happened upon the building. "Is this everyone?" she asked him.

"I think so. I thought I heard someone towards the back when the fire broke out." he shrugged.

With a nod, she let him pass as she walked carefully through the back hallway, checking for anymore people trapped inside until she reached the backside of the building. Through the cracked glass, she could see the forest to the north that separated Mountain Glenn from Vale.

"Summer, the civilians are coming down now." she could hear Qrow say through her comms as she looked around. "Summer, you there?"

"Yeah, just hold on a second." she responded, squinting at a blur she could see heading into the forest. It was too small to be a Grimm. Looking closer, she could see it was two people running towards the forest away from the city. "Hey! Wait! The evac area is-" she started calling after them before one turned to the sound of her voice, that one individual being someone she recognized very well. "Cinder?" Summer gasped as the teen matched her teacher's surprise with a look of shock on her face.

"Summer..." Cinder mouthed before the grip on her shoulder from her father's hand tightened on her shoulder.

"Hold on." he ordered, the black wings oozing out of his back once again. Before Cinder could even ask how he was doing that, the two disappeared in a flash into the forest to the south.

"Cinder!" Summer called in vain as they flew out of sight at breakneck speed, however not a speed Summer couldn't match with her semblance.

"Summer, was that yell you? Are you alright?" Qrow asked from his comlink.

"I'm fine! I found October, and he has Cinder! I'm moving to go after him!" she replied, hopping down to the ground from her vantage point on the second floor of the building.

"What? Summer, no! You can't take him on alone!" Qrow tried to reason as he directed the rest of the civilians out of the burning building.

"We don't have time to argue, Qrow. He's getting away with her!" Summer argued. "Look, I'm going after him! I can't let October take her for his own gain." she finished, taking out her earpiece as she sped into the forest after her pupil.

"Dammit!" Qrow cursed as he nearly cracked his Scroll in his hand before taking up his weapon as the last civilain left the front door, before turning to run around the building.

"Qrow, what are you doing?" Arno called, turning to see his comrade dashing the wrong way.

"I'm going after Summer! She's-" he started to say before a loud thud landed in front of him. He turned to see a two-headed Grimm, the left head a Nevermore, with the right head being a Leo's, the wingspan of a large Griffon, and a small King Taijitu's head for the tip of its serpentine tail.

"Chimera!" Hephaestus shouted at the sight of the extremely rare and very deadly beast, causing the civilians to panic and bolt the opposite way as Arno lead them to safety. "Qrow, get away from there!"

Qrow stood his ground, his sword shifting back into its scythe mode as he glared down the monster. "Sorry...but you're in my way." he growled as he charged the Chimera, the Grimm in turn moving to pounce on him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everybody. I've been trying to get out a chapter for any of my stories before going back to college, but unfortunately couldn't. Instead, I got it finished after three days of classes. I'm just happy I got this finished before I fully get into the swing of things. I hope you enjoy this one, considering we're very close to the end on Summer's story here. Leave a comment (please, I like those) as I read all of mine, and I'll see you lads and lasses next time.**

* * *

Fire engulfed the city streets, filled with the wreckage of the city around the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses that had regrouped after searching the remainder of the city. A few injured Beacon students sat in cover fashioned from chunks of concrete or behind overturned cars while their comrades covered anyone healing them. At the forefront, Peter Port held the line alongside those he had trained, firing off volley after volley of fireballs into the horde of Grimm moving on them. Behind him, Glynda used her telekinesis to hurl anything she could get her hands on to combine with the seasoned warrior's gunfire. Combined, the two were carving the perfect path to get their wounded to safety back at the military evacuation zone, as well as drawing attention from the Grimm away from their students. "Students! You're clear!" Peter announced as the younger generation bolted for safe haven, leading any injured along as they fell back.

"Ozpin, Glynda! You both make sure they get on the ships and out of here!" Goldenrod ordered as he stabbed another Boarbatusk while his prodigal student batted back a Beowolf with his staff, simultaneously slashing at another with his cane sword.

"With all due respect, I'm not planning on leaving anyone behind!" Ozpin replied.

"You're not! Peter and I will be right be-" Goldenrod began to explain, before a rumbling below him that shook the ground caught his attention. Before he could even react, the ground below him exploded as a black hole lined with teeth swallowed him whole, the source emerging as a fat, pitch black worm the size of a skyscraper. The Tremor let out a bellowing roar in triumph of its successful meal.

"Professor!" Ozpin cried out charging the beast that just devoured his mentor. The Tremor turned its head to face him as he prepared to attack the massive subterranean Grimm, only to be pulled back by an unknown force. "Glynda, let me go! I can save him!"

"He's gone, Ozpin! I'm sorry!" she fought back, pulling him closer to the others with her semblance. It killed her to pull her best friend away from his dead master, but if they stayed to try and save him, they would die too. The three broke out into a sprint as they followed after their students, the Tremor not far behind them. As they made it back to the final perimeter around the safe zone, it seemed like the massive Grimm was going to win the race with its prey, were it not for the salvos of two Atlesian spider droids splattered its head across the cracked pavement. All of those who had just gotten out of the central district stepped back as they watched the two tank-like droids scan the dead Grimm to make sure it was actually neutralized.

"Oz, Glynda!" a voice called. They both turned to see James running up to them, two of his men not far behind. "Thank Monty you're alright." he sighed in relief.

"Not...all of us." Ozpin dejectedly answered, looking at the decaying corpse of the Tremor that ate Professor Goldenrod. He knew that as the Grimm dissipated, his mentor wouldn't be left in its place. Nothing survived being eaten by a Grimm that size.

"Goldenrod?" James asked, looking to where his old friend's gaze was locked. "He won't have died in vain." he finished, placing a hand on Ozpin's shoulder as a sign of apology for his loss. He knew the two were like father and son, more closely than one would think in t hat sort of non-biological relationship. "The other teams?"

"We lost contact with Summer's team minutes before the Tremor arrived." Glynda answered. "Have they checked in?"

"Just did!" Arno called as he ran up with the civilians they had just saved. Hephaestus followed the group, leading a winded Qrow leaning on his shoulder back alongside them. "Summer's still out there though."

"Why'd you come back without her?" James asked worriedly.

"She said she had to chase down someone." Hephaestus explained, Qrow still catching his breath from fending off the Chimera.

"Get him some water that isn't firewater." James ordered one of his men, who in turn produced a canteen. The major then handed the container to his comrade, who grasped it and drained its contents as if they were his own flask.

"Guh...Summer...she went after October Fall..." Qrow panted, finally finding his voice after getting hydrated.

"October? She saw him?" Glynda asked.

"She said he had one of our students..." Qrow nodded. "Cinder Fall...His daughter..."

"I'll call up a squad, send her some help!" James announced, not hesitating as he reached for his communicator.

"No, they won't add up to him." Qrow disagreed. "I'll go after them."

"Qrow, you barely held your own against that Chimera." Arno reminded him. The reaper lost nearly all his Aura before he could cleave the rare creature in half. "You need to rest."

"You don't know what he's capeable of, Arc." the drunkard shook his head, turning on his heel and bolting back in the direction they originally came from. "I'll be back with her!" he yelled back before, in a flash of light, a small black bird took off to the sky from where he once stood.

"Qrow, get back here!" Peter ordered, he and Hephaestus moving to retrieve him before a wall of Ursai and Boarbatusk coming their way deterred them from their plan.

"More Grimm coming this way!" Arno called as Atlesian soldiers moved into defensive positions around them.

"Get ready everyone!" Glynda ordered, Huntsmen moving to assist the soldiers while the Beacon students and civilians retreated to the evacuation ships. She looked back to see Ozpin standing alongside her, his expression one of determination. "Oz, you don't have to-"

"He didn't run, Glynda." Ozpin cut her off as the Grimm drew closer. "Neither will I."

* * *

The shadows in the woods made it hard for her to avoid quickly incoming trees as she sprinted through the forest after October and Cinder. Already, she had three narrow misses running face first into a tree or tripping over a root sticking out of the ground. She finally broke out into a clearing where she could see, the early morning fast approaching as the moon began to dip behind the horizon of the cliffs- wait, cliffs?

"Shit!" Summer thought as she skidded to a halt, stopping herself as she came to a matter of inches away from falling off the cliff side separating the mountain pass Mountain Glenn was located in from the sprawling forest leading to Vale in the distance. She looked around, not finding any sign of October or Cinder. "That's strange..." she muttered. "I'm sure I didn't pass him, and I moved fast enough to catch up to him." Looking around, the sound of the sudden rustling of leaves caught her ears.

Not hesitating, she drew Waning Crescent in a flash as she dodged October's initial jump kick as he dropped down from a tree she had just passed through. As she threw him off, he took a knee as he landed a few feet away from her, the two staring each other down. "October Fall." she glared. "You seem well."

"Never felt better, Miss Rose. Or should I say Mrs?" he asked, the two beginning to circle.

"Where's Cinder?" Summer asked, looking to the treeline.

"She's around." October answered. "Although, I don't believe she wants to talk."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying she knows the truth." he smirked, Summer's eyes going wide at this. "She knows the real reason you separated our family. You fear our power; that's why you broke us apart. Divided, we conquer, but together, we're stronger."

"He's lied to you, Cinder!" Summer yelled into the treeline in vain. "That's not the reason we had to arrest him! You don't know what he's capable of!"

"I would appreciate it if you stopped spouting lies at my daughter." October replied in her place as he reached a hand out. Creeping up his arm, the same black ooze that formed the wings on his back began taking form into something solid in the palm of his hand. It contorted, grew in length, thinned itself out, all until it formed a sword with a curved hilt. The black color it kept almost made it invisible in the late night darkness. Summer knew she'd have to keep her guard up in order to combat it.

"I'm sorry, Cinder." she sighed, readying Waning Crescent as October pointed his sword at the Huntress. "But I'm not letting him take you." As if commanded to do so, the two charged simultaneously at one another, Summer throwing her left hand sycthe at October, a strike he blocked before following with an upward slash as he got in close. She ducked out of the way as she pulled her thrown blade back to her grasp with its chain. As she took hold of it again, she hit a button on both grips of her weapon, the blades folding back as they revealed two revolver barrels. October was unfazed as she took deadly accuracy at him, only for each shot she squeezed off to be deflected by his blade. Each shot he took another step closer to her, getting in close once again as they exchanged blow after blow towards each other. No strike was on target, showing how evenly matched the two were in skill with their weapons. Each slash, stab or parry from October was met with an equal slice, jab, or shot from Summer. Each near miss ebbed away at the auras of each combatant, in the chain-scythe wielder's case, also tearing at her cloak.

Another close strike from Summer across the rogue's chest forced him to back off, taking a moment to stare down his opponent as he contemplated his strategy. "Hmm...This weapon isn't going to cut it anymore..." he thought aloud, as the structure of his sword suddenly wavered, turning back into the manageable ooze in his hands. Summer watched in a mix of anticipation and intrigue as it lengthened further than the sword blade that he formerly wielded. One end grew a bulge as it finally solidified into a war hammer. "Much better." he smiled as he charged again.

Summer attempted throwing Waning Crescent at him again, one being knocked off target, the other redirected with a pulverizing blow into a tree that shattered the blade of her right-hand scythe, and leaving its wielder wide open as a gust from October's wings propelled him closer to her. She attempted to pull her left scythe back, trying to catch him in a trap, but October simply stuck out the head end of his hammer as the weapon's chain wrapped around the handle. With a firm tug, Summer was lifted off her feet by the deceptively strong man she was facing and pulled towards him. Once in range, October drove a right hook into her face, following it up with a brutal strike with his hammer into her side. "ARGH!" she cried out, painfully feeling a rib crack as she was thrown to the edge of the cliff they stood on. Looking up, she watched as October's weapon turned back into a sword once more.

"I believe that's the match, Mrs. Rose." October coyly mused, a smirk forming on his face suddenly fading as he noticed Summer breathlessly chuckle. She looked up to face him, a distinct glow coming from her silver eyes that made October grow serious.

"Not yet." she retorted as both chains suddenly retracted to her grasp, the scarred and shattered blades suddenly gaining new life as they gained a blinding glow from Summer's powers. Almost immediately as her energy was infused into her weapons, October charged again, Summer meeting him halfway as their weapons clashed once again. Continuously ducking under October's strikes and getting in close with her own, she slashed and cut at him at close range, each strike devastating to the aura protecting him. She followed a deep cut to his shoulder with a forceful palm strike that smashed her opponent through a tree and sprawled him out on the ground. Summer stood her ground, letting her powers relax as she was sure he was beaten, only for the pain of her broken rib to flare up again. She carefully started stepping towards him as he stumbled to his feet at the treeline. "Now, show me Cinder." she demanded.

"Gladly." October smiled, snapping his fingers.

Summer looked around, not seeing anybody but October around. Before she could ask what kind of game he was playing at, a sharp pain in her back drove her to her hands and knees, leaving her feeling like she was just stung by a rapier wasp. She turned to the source, devastated by who fired the arrow sticking out of her back. "Cinder...wha-"

Cinder turned away as she lowered her weapon. "I'm sorry, Summer..." she pleaded forgiveness as her father stepped forward. Summer looked up as she grabbed her by the neck, and holding her up to his face.

"And Summer shall fade to Fall." he grinned as he thrust his sword out. All the wind escaped Summer's lungs as she felt his blade go straight through her abdomen, protruding next to where Cinder shot her with her arrow. She fell as the sword was pulled from her and dropped unceremoniously to the ground, a puddle of blood forming where she fell. She was ready to feel everything fade to black as October brought his sword down in an arc towards her, only the sensation of a slice across her never came. The sound of one reached her ears, but it wasn't a noise of agony coming from her mouth. Instead, it came from October.

Summer looked up, both her silver eyes open wide as she noticed blood oozing from a deep cut across October's arm, up his shoulder, and ending with one of his wings severed, the black substance it was made of dissipating as it fell to the ground. He clutched his arm in pain as he turned to the one who had cut him. "You." he growled.

Standing a few feet away from him was a masked woman, piercing red eyes through the four eyeholes of her mask. She retracted her green-bladed katana into her cylindrical sheathe attached to her hip, redrawing it with a dark red blade she then pointed at the villain. "R-Raven..." Summer gasped at her disgruntled teammate.

"Father!" Cinder cried out as she drew her bow, taking aim at Raven, who seemed unfazed at the teenager lining up an arrow with her as the target.

"Cinder, do not fire. She's too strong for you." October ordered from his position a few feet away. Glancing at him with a worried and confused look, his daughter finally gave in, lowering her weapon to her side slowly.

"It's over October." Raven spoke. "You've been beaten. Your powers have been halved."

"Powers?" Summer thought aloud.

"That's what you'd like to think, isn't it, Branwen?" He sneered, plunging a hand surrounded in pitch black aura energy into the ground between him and the new contender in the battle. "With this energy, my power is limitless!" he roared as a blackened puddle formed from where his hand touched the ground. From this puddle, a duo of Griffons formed from the darkness. Both let out a screech as one dived towards Raven with the means to attack her, while its other turned around, allowing October and Cinder onto its back as it took to the sky away from the cliffside.

From that same puddle, a half dozen, thickly armored Beowolves rose from the same puddle as the Griffons, gathering behind the flying Grimm still staring down Raven. Two turned away to the scent of blood, finding it in the critically injured Summer. They prepared to pounce on her before a single crow flew in front of them. In a flash, the small black bird was gone, and the two Beowolves fell, halved by the gleaming blade of Qrow's scythe. "Nice to see you again, Sis." he smirked, shaking the Grimm's blood off his blade.

"Qrow." Raven nodded in response before the cry of the Griffon snapped the both of them back into the fight. The beaked creature aimed to bite down on the woman standing in front of it, but Raven sidestepped as it fell headfirst into one of her portals she discretely opened behind her. The exit appeared behind Qrow, who was more than ready to behead the beast as it emerged. With the Griffon dealt with, the two siblings made quick work of the remaining Beowolves before silently sheathing their weapons and sharing an uneasy look towards each other.

"Just like...old times." Summer smirked before she was wracked in another wave of pain. A spatter of blood hit the ground with a particularly bad cough that gained the Branwens' attention.

"Summer!" Qrow gasped as the two ran to her side as she rolled over. Skidding on his knees to a stop as he carefully took off his cloak and placed it over her wound to stop the bleeding. "You're going to be fine, you hear me? Just stay awake!"

Summer didn't respond to his order as she turned her head to face his twin sister. "Hey, Rave. Take that mask off." she ordered. "I want to see my friend's face. Not some Grimm's ugly mug."

Raven complied as she reached for her face and took her mask off. "Even after leaving you all for six years, you still think of me as a friend?" she asked.

"Course I do." Summer smiled. "What else would I think of you as?"

"I..." Raven started to speak before Summer went into another coughing fit.

"Shit, this is worse than I thought." Qrow cursed, now trying to tear off the hem of his now blood-soaked cloak to make bandages. "Raven, get these around her. I gotta call for help from-"

"Qrow...it's no use." his injured team leader cut him off.

Shocked by her words, ignoring they were her actual words, he shook his head. "Don't say that!" he yelled. "You're not dying here!"

"There's no...no time..." Summer stuttered. She could feel herself becoming numb, a telltale sign the end was coming. So this is what death was? Cold, feeling everything shut down slowly? No wonder people hated this.

"Quit saying that!" he roared in denial. "I'm not letting you die, Summer!"

She looked between the two. Qrow was fighting back tears as he looked down on her. Raven looked down at her in pity, a look of regret plastered on her face. "You two...have been some of the best friends I could ask for. Tell Tai and the girls...I'm sorry...I'll have to postpone that family day I told Ruby and Yang about..." she paused as another bout of coughing brought more blood from her mouth. Raven brought a hand behind her head, cradling it as she raised Summer into a sitting position to help her not choke on the red liquid now dripping from her lips.

"Don't worry about that." Raven whispered, suppressing her emotions, staying strong for all three of them. "Where you're going, that day can come every time you wake up in the morning." she assured her dying friend.

The world shattered around Qrow as he finally came to terms with what was happening. He smashed his fist into the ground, angry at himself that he couldn't make it sooner. "Dammit!" he cried as the dam broke, suppressing a sob as he felt a shaky hand reach his shoulder.

"Qrow, don't...you dare...blame yourself for this." Summer snapped at him. "This is nobody here's fault...but my own..."

"Well, don't blame yourself either!" Qrow whimpered. "That bastard did this to you! He's going to pay!" the scythe-user vowed.

"And he will...but promise me something." Summer asked, retracting her arm as it grew heavy, slowly falling to her side.

"Anything. Whatever it is, I promise I'll do it." Qrow immediately agreed, taking her hand before it reached the ground.

"You promise me too, Raven." she asked before turning back to Qrow. "Watch over...Ruby and Yang..." she asked. "They need...a good set of teachers...to help them blossom... into the strong, young ladies I know they'll become." she smiled.

"Of course..." Raven nodded. "I'll keep my eye on them."

"That goes double for me." Qrow agreed too.

Summer smiled once more as the rising sun cast a glow over the cliff they sat on. The light began to fade into nothing but whiteness for Summer as she felt at peace. "Then thus...I kindly scatter..." she sighed as her head fell back, her body went limp, and Summer Rose left this world.

"...Her favorite poem." Raven thought, bowing her head for her fallen friend as she gently laid her body down, her brother now silently sobbing as he looked down at Summer. Slowly, Raven stood up walking away from the two. Drawing her sword, a swipe through the air in front of her summoned a portal she was prepared to enter.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Qrow sneered from behind her.

"Back to my mission." Raven solemnly answered, not facing him.

Now beyond angered, Qrow shot up as he stood behind his sister. "After all this time, after what just happened, you have the nerve to leave? You made a promise, Raven!To me, to Summer, that you would stay and be there for your daughter!" He was screaming at her at this point.

"She said to watch over them." she corrected. "I'm not breaking that promise."

"You know, you said the exact same thing about never leaving Tai when you married him. You said the same thing the day Yang was born about never leaving her. Guess what? You're 0 for 2 on both those promises!" he retorted. "She wasn't even twelve hours old when you disappeared! Why should anyone believe you this time?"

"BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO PREVENT THIS!" Raven snapped, turning back with tears running down her face to her brother, who's face matched her own: broken and upset over the death of their friend. She cut herself off as she locked eyes with him, looking down as she wiped away the tears from her face. "Meet me in Vale in one week. I'll tell you everything, answer all your questions. Bring Taiyang if you must, but please...believe me this time when I say I'll promise." she asked of him.

Hesitating, Qrow stared his sister down before responding. "8am, by the docks where Tai proposed to you." he ordered.

With a nod in agreement, Raven replaced the mask over her face as she turned and stepped through her portal. It closed once she disappeared into the other side, leaving Qrow alone with Summer's body as the sun rose behind them.

"Come on, Summer." He sighed, picking her up as he stepped back towards Mountain Glenn. "Let's get you home."

 **To Be Concluded**


	10. Chapter 10

The sun had risen an hour ago as Ruby opened her eyes, blinking the sleep out as she woke up, crawling out of bed. Stretching, she gave out a big yawn before she heard voices downstairs. She could recognize them: Dad and Uncle Qrow. "Mama's home!" she gasped in excited surprise, bolting out of her room, and ready to run downstairs, stopping herself before she ran into Yang. "Yang! Is Mama home?" she asked, getting an odd response from her half-sister. In fact, she received no response as Yang didn't even react. She simply sat on the staircase, staring off into space with a look of disbelief plastered on her face. With a shrug, she ran down the staircase to see her mother, only to be met by the dimly-lit living room and kitchen. The front door was wide open, Taiyang kneeling in front of it with his back turned to her as Qrow stood above him, stonefaced as he held something covered in his cloak.

"Mama?"

* * *

 **Four Days Later...**

"...Huntsman Squad Leader, Darko Donald. Huntress, Coin Nickleson. Huntsman and Beacon Headmaster, Doctor Adrian Goldenrod. And finally, Huntress Squad Leader, Summer Rose."

The melancholy droning on of the councilman of Vale at this memorial ceremony was beginning to be too much to bear for Taiyang as he read off the list of those who gave their lives to defend humanitu. He struggled to keep up the strong, stone-faced facade as the names of those who died to prevent Mountain Glenn's fall were spoken. He looked to his left. Sitting by his side was Qrow, his crimson eyes locked on the cobblestone ground their row of chairs sat on in front of the city square's podium. By his glare and shaking fist resting on his lap, he could tell the reaper was beating himself up for what had transpired. He had done his best; that's all that could be asked of the dusty old crow, but in the end, it wasn't enough.

Beside Qrow sat the remainder of their friends, all of the row dressed in black for this occasion save for James. It wasn't his fault though that the military lacked funereal-appropriate attire. The young officer kept his eyes deadlocked on the stage. Those who saw him could tell the young officer was doing his best to suppress his grief, not just for the friend he lost, but all the men under his command that fell after he had promised to get them back home safely. It was the first time the Atlesian had felt the burden of being a leader.

Further down sat Ozpin and Glynda. Taiyang had seen the platinum blonde mage in a multitude of emotions from sullen and angry to relaxed and content, but he had never seen her shed a tear in the ten years he had known her until today. She turned her face away from his view as she wiped it from her face with her hand. He couldn't even imagine what was going through Ozpin's mind as his eyes met the silver-haired man's for a brief moment, but considering he just lost his father figure, there weren't many good thoughts present.

A whimper on his other side grabbed his attention as he turned to the source. Ruby was silently crying into her half sister's shoulder. Yang stood strong as she had her arm wrapped around her sister, being there to comfort her despite tears falling from her lilac eyes too.

He knew he had to be strong for their sakes, but how could he? This was his second lost love in a decade. First, Raven, and now this...

"Tai?"

He snapped out of it as he heard a cacophony of shuffling feet around the courtyard. He was lost in his own thoughts for too long; the memorial service had ended. He turned to see Qrow shaking his shoulder lightly to bring him back to reality. "It's time we left."

"Right...C'mon, girls." he nodded, his two girls hesitantly getting up as they started back towards the docks for the ferry back to Patch Island. "Let's get going then, Qrow."

"I'll catch up; just gonna say farewell to the others." Qrow nodded, waiving as his brother in law took the girls away with the crowd leaving the ceremony. He turned to Ozpin, Glynda and James as they started getting up from their seats. "You three gonna be alright?" he asked.

"I should be asking that about you and Taiyang." Glynda replied.

"We'll survive this. It's not the first time either of us lost someone we care about." the reaper huffed.

"You should probably go join them then. Strength in numbers doesn't just apply on the battlefield." James nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind, Jimmy." Qrow nodded. "Oz...Good luck with the new gig at Beacon. I just wish you got it in better circumstances."

"You and I both, Qrow." Ozpin responded. "I don't deserve this though. Someone like you, James. Or maybe you, Glynda-" he tried to bargain.

"Oz." Glynda cut him off. "It was your name in his will, not ours." she reassured him. "You'll be a great Headmaster."

"And all of us will be one call away if you need anyone." James agreed, as they looked back to Qrow. "That goes double for you and Tai."

"Course it would. I gotta be off." Qrow waived, although he wasn't headed back to Patch just yet. There was one piece of business he's had to take care of.

* * *

 _"She said yes, guys!" Taiyang happily called, Summer and Qrow briskly walking out from behind the bushes nearby, tired of waiting for the result._

 _"Eeek! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you two!" Summer squealed as she charged the beaming Taiyang and a still dumbfounded Raven, smiling at her engagement ring, pulling them into a hug._

 _"Thank you, Summer." Raven chuckled as she looked over to her twin still coming this way._

 _"Heh, you actually had the balls to do it." Qrow smirked. "Just promise you'll keep her happy."_

 _"You don't need to worry about her. Trust me." Taiyang promised..._

Raven stared out at the bay from the coastline walkway, that memory being the only thing on her mind at the moment as she stared out into the mid-morning sun, finally breaking through the fog on this dreary day over the bay separating Patch and Vale. "It wasn't him you had to be worried about." she thought, looking down at her hand. She had lost the ring a few years ago after her finger was broken during a fight, and she had to remove it so it could heal. It was the only thing she kept from her old life as Taiyang's wife, as Yang' mother. She was just a shadow now, and she hated herself for the lengths she went to become one.

"You actually did show up."

She turned to see her twin brother, almost in a matching trench coat like the one she was currently wearing. "I told you I would be." she answered. "How was the service?"

"Short, sad...still beautiful." Qrow sighed, taking out his flask for a swig. "She's up on that hill on the eastern side of Vale she loved picnicking on with the family."

"Ah. I know the one." Raven nodded. "That sounds nice." she sighed sadly.

"Yeah." her brother shrugged, gulping down his swig of bourbon and placing the flask away. "I didn't come here to just get you caught up on recent events though."

Raven looked down. "I know." she nodded. "And I intend on letting you in on what I've been doing. Just know that I'm bringing you into something extremely classified, and it took my colleagues alot of convincing to bring you in."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. What the hell had his twin sister gotten herself into? "Then I'll be sure not to shout it out to the masses." he said sarcastically. "Let's hear it."

Raven nodded again. "Qrow, did you ever hear about the legends of what ancient humans thought the Grimm originated from?"

* * *

 **Two Days Later...**

Signal Academy has had a tough week since the fall of Mountain Glenn. Students that had once roamed the halls vibrantly with life were dull and depressing. Some students had lost friends, loved ones, family, or even their own lives in the nightmare of a night. With Summer gone and both Qrow and Taiyang out for time to grieve, Auburn was the only supervising member of the academy besides lesser instructors for the time being. He also was the only one with the knowledge to supervise the combat practice class.

He should have known something was wrong. He should have noticed the escalation of the fight. But he didn't. Tension and emotions had been high among the students, but ever since Cinder had returned to the academy the day after Mountain Glenn, she seemed to be the most aggressive in the combat class. Yesterday, another student had to be sent to the nurse's office for a head injury. This time, he'd have to call for more serious help.

Two larger male students were struggling to restrain Cinder as she tried to struggle out of their grasps. She had injured another student again in their sparring match, and this girl was still on her stomach, her rifle on the floor a few feet away. Auburn walked over to check on her. "Miss Ecru, can you hear me?" he asked the pale blonde girl, shaking her shoulder lightly.

"I...I'm scared, sir..." she meekly whimpered.

"It's alright. Cinder isn't going to hurt you anymore, child." he reassured her.

"No, it's..." she started, trembling. "I...I can't feel my legs. Why can't I move them?"

* * *

"This is Larry Lavender, reporting from Signal Academy where apparently, a student at this Huntsman Academy has purposefully paralyzed another student in combat practice."

That's all Cinder could hear as the hood thrown over her head by the arresting officers to hide her identity from the press covered her vision. She could tell she was being lead down the front entrance stairway and being placed in the backseat of a cop car. She then felt the hand of the arresting officer leave her shoulder and the back door slam. She shook the hood off and got a look with her vision unobstructed. The car lurched forward as the cop driving the car pulled away from the school. "Remind me again, why did you want me to go back there?" Cinder asked.

The cop pulled off his false mustache and cap, revealing himself to be October Fall. "I already told you: for me to train you, I need you to separate all ties with this life." he explained. "I have to admit though, you may have went a bit overboard."

"I went overboard shooting Mrs. Rose..." Cinder murmured. Betraying her mentor was the hardest decision she ever made, but if what her father had told her after they escaped Mountain Glenn and Summer was true, it had to be done.

"What was that?" October asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked in the rear view mirror.

"Nothing, Father." she answered. "Where are we headed?"

"I've booked us passage to Atlas through the local crime family." October explained. "I have an associate there named Marcus Black. We'll need someone who knows the city to retrieve Violet."

Cinder perked up at the mention of her older sister's name. "Violet? She's in Atlas?" Cinder thought aloud.

"With any luck, so are Viridia and Alex." October thought. "I already have her location, but we're still working out the plan."

"And...what about the tomb here?" she asked, now knowing the true story.

"Mountain Glenn wasn't the right site. We'll find it and claim what's inside."

* * *

 _"Even if it takes us years..."_

Snow blanketed the hills as Summer stood alone, her cape fluttering in the gust of icy wind that she could barely feel. It had been years. She had seen Vale get attacked, be rebuilt, prosper, and then get brought to its knees again. October's plans had come and gone. Her daughters had done what she couldn't prevent. She could only watch as she and her friends went through the hardships they suffered, but seeing the end result from her perch, it was worth it in the end. Ruby, Yang, and their assortment of friends were happy, healthy, and enjoying their lives.

That is...until last week..

She looked out with worry across the valley into Vale. The city was dark, without full power since the attack. Beacon's towers had crumbled under the assault they had endured. The whole settlement was a shell of its former self, and to make matters worse, Ruby went missing in the attack.

She was ripped from her worry as she heard the sound of crunching footsteps behind her. Coming up to her was a young Faunus man with brown and red hair, a red hooded sweatshirt and black pants with two shotguns holstered on his hips. "Hey, Grandma." Thorn nodded to the gravestone in front of him. Summer turned back to face him. "I know I don't come by often...especially alone, but..." he paused, thinking of what to say. "Some shit went down in Vale not too long ago. Mom's missing, Aunt Yang's barely holding it together, and I lost some friends in the attack. The trail leads all the way to Mistral. I don't know when I'll be back, or even if I'll find Mom, or who we're looking to bring to justice. Just know I'm gonna try my best to find out who did this, and why they did it. For Mom, for my friends..." he looked behind him. Summer could see three others at the treeline, each armed with their weapons, one holding Thorn's backpack for him as he spoke with her. "And for our family. Wish me luck." he finally finished, turning to his friends and walking away.

Alone again but reassured, Summer sighed as she put on a brave face. "He's right." she thought as she watched her grandson leave. "If Ruby could save the world three times, I have no doubt he'll save it at least once." She smiled again as she looked back out towards the valley. "Good luck to you, Thorn. The world is yours to save now."

 **The End**

* * *

 **That's a wrap! A Rose's Last Bloom is over! I really hope you enjoyed the story, and I'm really glad I got to finish one more chapter out of all my stories before Volume 4 premiered...even if it's right on the borderline. God, I feel like I haven't touched these drafts in ages.**

 **Also, a little announcement, especially after you all just read that last section.**

 **You asked for it, and you will receive it:**

 **"RWBI: A NextGen RWBY Fic" coming soon!**

 **Now I know what you're thinking: "Dust, you haven't even finished Broken Home yet! Why the hell do you have another fic coming out?"**

 **Well, 1: it's not coming out yet. 2: I plan to at least finish Broken Home before I even get Chapter 2 finished. 3: I've been working on it during the writer's block I've had with Broken Home. And 4: This will mostly be a feeler, seeing how well it'd do compared to the rest of my stories before I progress to a second arc with it like I did with the little AU I've created between Stolen Innocence and Broken Home, along with the third story that'll round out that trilogy.**

 **Anyway, without much more to say, please leave a like or a comment if you enjoyed this story (I love those; I read all of them), follow me for future updates on my other stories, and I'll see you lads and lasses around! Enjoy Volume 4!**


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